Alcohol: Labelling

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last had discussions with the food and drink manufacturing industries about adding information on calorie contents to the labels of alcoholic drinks; and what was the outcome of those discussions.

Earl Howe: The Government have not met the food manufacturing industry about adding information on calorie contents to the labels of alcoholic drinks.
	The department last discussed the inclusion of calorie information on alcohol labels with the Portman Group early in March 2011. The Portman Group's guidelines on alcohol labelling refer (in paragraph 3.11) to the possibility that individual companies may wish to trial presentations of such information on labels.

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the advantages of European Union accession to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) over the existing World Trade Organisation agreement at Doha.

Baroness Wilcox: Counterfeiting and the piracy of intellectual property rights (IPRs) are recognised as a problem that requires effective action on a global scale. Anti-counterfeiting and piracy measures are not part of the Doha negotiating mandate at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), but minimum standards of IPR enforcement are set out in the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will assist the European Union in its efforts to combat IPR infringement by building on the minimum standards set out by TRIPS, establishing common enforcement standards and practices and greater international co-operation between the signatories.

Armed Forces: Atomic Test Veterans

Baroness Brinton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the audit commissioned by the Ministry of Defence into the health needs of atomic test veterans; what conclusions they have drawn from it; and what the next steps will be.

Lord De Mauley: Officials have received a draft of the health needs audit report, which has been produced by Miles & Green Associates. It is intended that a meeting will be held shortly with Miles & Green and the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association to present the final report. We hope to be able to publish the health needs audit report later this year.

Armed Forces: Medals

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 19 July (WA 265), whether they have any plans to follow the Government of Australia in setting up an independent tribunal to review past military awards.

Lord De Mauley: No. There are no plans to replicate Australia's Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal.

Armed Forces: Medals

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there has been any progress on the issuance of the Arctic Star for those merchant seamen who saw service in the Arctic in the Second World War.

Lord De Mauley: As part of the ongoing review of the rules governing the award of medals, consideration is being given to the campaign seeking further recognition for those who served as part of the Arctic convoys. It would be wrong for me to prejudge the final outcome of the review, and I await its final conclusions.

Armed Forces: Nuclear Tests

Baroness Brinton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what scientific research the Ministry of Defence has funded on the effects of ionising radiation.

Lord De Mauley: The Ministry of Defence places a large number of research contracts on a variety of issues, including the effects of ionising radiation. This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: RAF Reserves

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether qualified former members of the Royal Air Force, who are fit and healthy but have HIV, are able to join the RAF Reserves.

Lord Astor of Hever: Applicants for both the RAF and Royal Auxiliary Air Force with HIV are declined, as it is a known condition that might develop and render them unable to perform their duties and places limitations on their deployability, regardless of previous service. However, personnel with HIV who have left the RAF and have a reserve liability may be called up to serve in particular roles, as required, provided that their health permits, but could not be deployed to forward operations.

Armed Forces: Rowland Study

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Rowland study of nuclear test veterans from the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Lord Astor of Hever: Dr Rowland's study of nuclear test veterans from the Royal New Zealand Navy made a number of interesting observations. However, the study was small and the findings have not been replicated. Many causes of the type of genetic change Dr Rowland suggested have been identified, notably ageing and lifestyle issues such as smoking. The observed generic change does not indicate or predict disease, and the study itself confirms that it was not designed to make any comment on clinical outcomes.

Armed Forces: Suicide

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the suicide rate in the Armed Forces compared to the civilian population.

Lord Astor of Hever: In order to make this comparison, a Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR) has been calculated. An SMR compares the number of suicides in the Armed Forces to the number of civilian suicides by standardising the Armed Forces population. The SMR is then used to assess the "risk" of death for a sub-population, in this case the Armed Forces.
	As part of the calculation, the civilian population is set to a value of 100. A ratio greater than 100 would indicate higher suicide rate in the UK Armed Forces than the comparable UK civilian population. Likewise, an SMR value less than 100 would indicate that the suicide rate in the UK Armed Forces is lower than the corresponding group in the UK civilian population. An SMR value of 55 would mean that the UK Armed Forces were at a 45 per cent decreased risk of suicide.
	The following table lists the number of suicides recorded in the Armed Forces in the last 10 years and the corresponding SMR.
	
		
			 Year Number Standard Mortality Ratio 
			 2001 16 37.2 
			 2002 15 34.8 
			 2003 25 60.8 
			 2004 20 51.5 
			 2005 22 63.3 
			 2006 11 29.8 
			 2007 10 30.8 
			 2008 9 26.7 
			 2009 10 30.0 
			 2010 5 14.9 
		
	
	These figures indicate that, in all years, the Armed Forces were at a significantly decreased risk of suicide compared to the civilian population.

Bank of England: Financial Policy Committee

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 13 July (WA 174-5), whether the independent members of the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) are not permitted to commission advice from sources outside the Bank or whether requests to acquire such advice require the prior agreement of the Governor; and whether a budget has been set for the cost of providing advice to independent members of the FPC from the Bank's staff.

Lord Sassoon: The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) does not have a dedicated budget for external research. However, the committee is supported by Bank of England staff who are available to undertake research and provide advice, as required by independent members of the committee. A secretariat has been set up specifically to support the committee, including its independent members, with a budget of 6.5 full-time equivalent staff.
	Independent members of the Financial Policy Committee may carry out their own research and consider research from any external source. Financial Services Authority staff also play a key role in briefing FPC members and implementing policy actions on behalf of the FPC.

Bank of England: Financial Policy Committee

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Bank of England's current Financial Policy Committee (FPC) can require the Financial Services Authority to disclose information about regulatory entities to support the work of the Committee; and whether such requirements can be issued by the FPC and its independent members or must be issued by the Bank of England.

Lord Sassoon: The interim Financial Policy Committee operates on a non-statutory basis, and so currently has no statutory powers. The Government have published draft legislation that will establish a permanent Financial Policy Committee (FPC). The legislation will also replace the Financial Services Authority (FSA) with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Bank of England will have powers to require the PRA and FCA to gather specified information to support the FPC.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are monitoring the financial strength of United Kingdom regulated banks offering Sharia-compliant accounts with high annualised rates of return.

Lord Sassoon: Monitoring banks' financial strength is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA supervises and regulates banks incorporated in the UK which offer Sharia-compliant accounts in the same way as any other UK institution with a regulatory permission to accept deposits. These banks are required to comply with FSA rules covering capital, liquidity, complaints and other conduct of business matters and are subject to requirements to participate in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). For deposit claims, the FSCS can pay up to f85,000 per person per firm in default where a deposit taker fails on or after 31 December 2010.

Banking: Bonuses

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they or the Financial Services Authority (FSA) are collecting data on the extent of bonus claw-backs carried out by United Kingdom banks; and, in particular, whether they or the FSA are aware of any claw-backs made in connection with the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance.

Lord Sassoon: Although the Financial Services Authority (FSA) does not collect data on clawed-back bonuses, banks are now required to disclose the aggregate amount of clawed-back bonuses in their annual pillar 3 risk disclosure, which is made available to the public. This is one of a number of remuneration disclosures that were incorporated into the pillar 3 framework under FSA rules from 1 January 2011, implementing the requirements of the capital requirements directive. In line with this disclosure regime, banks' annual reports and pillar 3 disclosures for the 2010-11 financial year do not make reference to claw-backs in relation to payment protection insurance mis-selling.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 4 July (WA 3) concerning the human rights of British citizens living in the Republic of Ireland, why they indicated that the human rights of British citizens have improved since the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by the noble Lord, Lord Shutt of Greetland, on 4 July, Official Report, col. WA3.

Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, for an old age pensioner, what are the (a) living allowances per week, (b) living allowance per week for a spouse, and (c) weekly hardship allowance.

Lord Freud: The full basic state pension is currently £102.15 per week. A pension of up to £61.20 per week can be paid for a spouse or civil partner depending on, for example, the age of the spouse or civil partner and any entitlement to pensions they may have in their own right.
	The hardship allowance is not a weekly payment. If a person is in hardship because of non-payment of an income, that person may qualify for help from the social fund. Amounts paid by the social fund will vary according to circumstance. Many pensioners also receive additional state pension and/or a workplace pension. Occupational and private pension contributions are given generous tax privileges by the Government.
	Some pensioners may also qualify for pension credit, which can top up income to £137.35 a week (£7,142.20 a year) for single pensioners and £209.70 a week (£10,904.40 a year) for couples. These amounts may be higher if pensioners are disabled, have caring responsibilities or certain housing costs such as mortgage interest payments. Many pensioners also receive help with housing benefit and council tax benefit.
	The amounts above are exclusive of the annual worth of other pensioner benefits such as, free off-peak bus travel, free eye tests and prescriptions and from the age of 75, the free television licence scheme.

Benefits

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what would be the impact on the numbers affected by the proposed overall benefits cap if (a) carer's allowance, and (b) financial help with childcare costs, were not included in the calculation of the cap.

Lord Freud: The information requested is not available as sample sizes are too small to yield reliable results for those who are receiving carer's allowance, and/or financial help with childcare costs and are subject to the overall benefit cap.

Benefits

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to Macmillan Cancer Support's estimate that their proposals to limit contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) to 12 months will result in 7,000 cancer patients losing up to £94 per week in benefits, and that those whose partners earn £7,500 or more a year could lose their ESA altogether.

Lord Freud: The department has carefully considered the position of people with a range of serious and life threatening illnesses-including cancer-in relation to the benefit system. We do not aim to reduce the levels of support for the most severely ill or disabled people but it is clearly important that we ensure it is well targeted, is fair to those on low pay and that the right money goes to the right people.
	Following an internal review we have recently made changes to the work capability assessment (WCA) so that more individuals undergoing certain chemotherapy treatments will automatically be placed in the support group without the need for an assessment. Those in the support group, including many cancer patients, will not be affected by the time-limiting measure.
	People will still be able to claim income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) subject to meeting the conditions of entitlement. Access to income-related ESA is not affected by this measure. This measure will not leave people destitute-only those who have alternative resources will not qualify for income-related ESA. Typically they would have a partner in full-time work or have savings in excess of £16,000 in order not to qualify for income-related ESA.
	Dependent on individual circumstances, a person may be able to claim a number of benefits, for example housing benefit, council tax benefit, pension credit and tax credits. Additionally, those who do not qualify for income-related ESA will still be able to claim ESA on a "credits only" basis so that they can maintain their national insurance contribution record.
	A claimant will also retain any entitlement to disability living allowance, provided they continue to meet the qualifying conditions. Not all those affected with cancer will be financially worse off as a result of this measure as some will be fully or partially compensated by income-related ESA.
	Additionally, Professor Harrington, as part of his second independent review, asked Macmillan Cancer Support to look in detail at how the WCA assesses people with cancer and to provide him with recommendations for further improvements. We have recently received these recommendations from Professor Harrington. We are considering them carefully to understand whether they will improve the assessment further for individuals with cancer. We will come forward with any proposals shortly.
	We are determined that the social security system should support people who are diagnosed with cancer in the most sensitive, fair and appropriate way and have been working with Macmillan Cancer Support and others to achieve this.

Churchill Medical Centre

Baroness Thornton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Churchill Medical Centre has deregistered 48 patients from a local care home, some with dementia and others severely mentally disabled.

Earl Howe: I am informed that the Churchill Medical Centre gave notice on 22 June of its intention to deregister 48 residents of Kingston Care Home due to the resources required to support those patients. The National Health Service has a responsibility to ensure that all patients get the support they need and I understand that NHS Kingston has worked to ensure that all the patients affected by the centre's decision have been registered with other general practitioners' practices in the local area.

Companies House: Fraud

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to ensure that Companies House is provided with legal powers to verify the accuracy of information submitted by companies, with a view to preventing fraud.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government currently have no plans to change Companies House's legal powers to verify the accuracy of information submitted by companies.

Consular Death Certificates

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many consular death certificates in respect of United Kingdom citizens dying abroad were (a) applied for, and (b) granted over the past three years.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Consular death registration is not a mandatory requirement, and an application for registration as well as certified copies of the entry in the form of certificates can be made at any time after the event either from the Post who registered the death or from the respective General Register Office in the UK.
	The number of consular death registrations undertaken in the years requested are as follows:
	
		
			 2010: 510 
			 2009: 537 
			 2008: 511 
		
	
	We do not hold records of how many certificates were issued.
	Consular death registration can only be undertaken if requested and the deceased held British nationality at the time of death. Therefore we do not grant applications.

Copyright

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence was considered in the preparation of Supporting Document EE attached to the Government's response to the Hargreaves report on copyright, Economic Impact of Recommendations; and whether they will publish their evidence.

Baroness Wilcox: The evidence used to prepare Supporting Document EE, Economic Impact of Recommendations, was published alongside the Hargreaves review of IP and growth. The methodology used to assess the economic impact of the recommendations is contained within Supporting Document EE in the 64-point reference lists and the data was published alongside the Hargreaves review in Supporting Document FF.

Coroners' Inquests

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many coroners' inquests have been held over the past three years under the provisions of Section 15 of the Coroners Act 1988.

Lord McNally: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the completion of inquests directed by the Secretary of State for Justice in the absence of a body under Section 15 of the Coroners Act 1988. However, between 1 January 2008 and 14 September 2011 the Secretary of State made 47 such directions, and we believe that the majority of the directed inquests will have been held.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 9 March 2009 (WA 204-05), from what point is an entity created by nuclear transfer considered to be either a human embryo or an admixed embryo subject to regulation according to Sections 1(1)(a) and 4A(6)(a) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended); whether the viability of embryos created by nuclear transfer is a prerequisite to their definition as embryos under the Act, and if so, how this is established; and what criteria the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority applies when assessing whether an entity is an embryo subject to regulation.

Earl Howe: The meaning of an embryo is set out in Section 1(1) and a human admixed embryo in Section 4A(6) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it has nothing further to add, by way of interpretation, to the definitions contained in the Act or to the Written Answer provided by Lord Darzi of Denham on 9 March 2009, Official Report, column WA 204-05.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision is made by UK DonorLink to assist people born before August 1991 in tracing their biological parents and half siblings; and whether public expenditure cuts will affect this service.

Earl Howe: The department has provided grants to After Adoption Yorkshire to run the UK DonorLink voluntary contact register for pre-1991 donor-conceived people and their donors since 2004. In the current economic climate, the department has to weigh carefully the pressures on and priorities for its funding against the value of the service that UK DonorLink provides.
	The department agreed to provide a grant of £60,000 in 2011-12 to support the running of UK DonorLink on the basis that After Adoption Yorkshire would develop, in-year, a transition to operating the service on a self-sustaining basis. The department is disappointed that After Adoption Yorkshire declared in August that it has been unable to move the UK DonorLink service to that self-sustaining status.
	The department will be considering other options over the next few months for running a voluntary contact register. In the mean time, the department has offered a further grant to After Adoption Yorkshire, until the end of March 2012, to support the UK DonorLink service while this consideration takes place.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the number of mistakes in IVF treatment has more than trebled in the United Kingdom over the past three years; and how many human embryos have been lost as a result of those mistakes.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it holds data only on the number of incidents and near misses reported to the authority by licensed centres. This does not represent the number of perceived mistakes in in vitro fertilisation treatment.
	The HFEA has also advised that the number of reported incidents and near misses is included in its annual reports. The total number of reported incidents and near misses has increased over the years. However, the number of more serious grade A and B incidents has fallen during the last two financial years.
	The HFEA encourages licensed centres to recognise and report when incidents occur and believes that an increase in the number of reported incidents reflects an increased willingness by centres to recognise and share learning from these.
	The HFEA incident reporting system, which focuses on causal analysis and lessons to be learnt, is not designed to account for the number of embryos that might have been affected by reported incidents.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 June 2010 (WA 182-3) regarding the use of human oocytes in research projects, whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority permitted the use under research licence R0122 of a primary oocyte from a patient treated between 23 and 27 September 2004 who had seemingly refused consent to participate in this project; and how the patient information and consent forms for research licence R0122 described to patients how their oocytes would be used in this project.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Thornton on 19 January 2010 (WA 225) and by Earl Howe on 23 June 2010 (WA 182-83), when the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) authorised the creation of embryos under research licence R0122; what was the intended use of any embryos under this licence; how the use of embryos might have been deemed to be necessary or desirable if eggs could have been used for the same purposes; and under what circumstances a centre would be expected to report details to the HFEA of research involving hundreds of eggs but no embryos.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has nothing further to add to the Written Answer I gave on 23 June 2010 (Official Report, col. WA 182-83). The HFEA has also advised that if a patient were to report to the authority such a case as described by the noble Lord, the matter would be investigated in accordance with its complaints procedure.
	The HFEA has advised that research approved by its Licence Committee is, on each occasion, considered against the criteria prescribed in Paragraph 3A of Schedule 2 to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended. The HFEA is not in a position to add to that consideration.
	The HFEA's statutory responsibility with regard to research is also set out in the Act. The HFEA has advised that as this covers only the use of human embryos in research, in no circumstance would a centre be expected to report to the authority research that did not involve human embryos.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 5 July 2010 (WA 12), regarding concerns raised by one of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's peer reviewers, why the total number of embryos destroyed under research licence R0152 appears to exceed that at other licensed centres, according to Appendix 2 of papers published by the Authority pursuant to its meeting on 14 September 2011.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 19 July 2010 (WA 163-4), why Appendix 2 of papers published by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for its meeting on 14 September 2011 does not contain any data for research licence R0153.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the answer to the noble Lord's Questions are in the minutes of the Authority's Research Licence Committee of 18 November 2009 and 18 May 2011, which can be found on the authority's website.

Employment: Agency Workers

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what qualifying period they propose under Article 5(4) of the EU agency workers directive before which agency workers would not be entitled to equal treatment; how this period compares with those proposed in other European Union countries; and whether they are consulting those countries.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The UK is implementing the directive through legislation, on the basis of an agreement between the CBI and the TUC that was reached in May 2008, that there should be a 12-week qualifying period. Formal consultation with other member states happens during negotiation rather than implementation, but I understand that many other EU countries will implement equal treatment from day one of an assignment

Energy: Biofuels

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to support the use of sustainable biodiesel produced from waste products, such as used cooking oil, beyond April 2012.

Lord Marland: We recognise that there are valuable uses of biodiesel in the bioenergy sectors, including those developed from wastes such as used cooking oil.
	We stated in the renewable heat incentive document published in March this year that we would consider bioliquids for introduction in 2012. In the renewables obligation (RO), FAME biodiesel that passes the mandatory sustainability criteria is currently eligible for 1 ROC for every megawatt of electricity generated. We expect to publish a consultation shortly that sets the support for all renewable technologies in the RO from 2013, including support for biodiesel.
	Subject to the outcome of a recent consultation on proposals to implement the renewable energy directive (RED), we expect to introduce twice the financial support to waste-derived biofuels as will be provided to conventional biofuels, through the award of two renewable transport certificates (RTFCs) per litre of waste derived biofuel. Crop-derived biofuels will continue to receive one certificate per litre, and no support will be awarded to biofuels that do not meet required sustainability standards.

Energy: Renewables

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many and what percentage of schools have renewable energy generated on site, broken down by type of energy generated and by county.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The Government do not hold information on the number and percentage of schools that have renewable energy generated on site, by type and by county. Display energy certificates show the amount of energy used by buildings and the percentage of energy from renewables. However, only school buildings over 1,000 square metres are required to maintain and display an energy certificate, and information from these is not analysed centrally.

Energy: Renewables

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many and what percentage of hospital sites have renewable energy generated on site, broken down by type of energy generated and by county.

Earl Howe: The information is not available in the format requested because the department does not hold data on the number of hospital sites that have renewable energy generated on site. However, the department does collect data, through estates returns information collection (ERIC), on the amounts of renewable fossil and non-fossil energy consumed annually by each National Health Service organisation.
	The latest ERIC data available relates to 2009-10, when the NHS reported that the total annual amount of electrical energy that it consumed that was supplied from an eligible renewable energy supply source was 665,017 gigajoules. Over the same period, the amount of non-fossil energy supplied from an eligible renewable energy supply source was 226,616 gigajoules. All ERIC data are publicly available and are published at: www.hefs.ic.nhs.uk. Data relating to the 2010-11 period will be available after 25 October 2011. The information provided has been supplied by the NHS and has not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.

Female Genital Mutilation

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support projects enabling schoolgirls to make films about female genital mutilation, in order to raise awareness of the subject in schools.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Schools have a key role in helping girls and future generations of young women avoid becoming victims of the appalling crime of female genital mutilation. I am aware of the good work done by Kids Taskforce, with government support, in developing a short film and accompanying teachers' resource pack on the subject for use in secondary schools. Schools and local authorities are free to decide on their own policies relating to the production by pupils of films to raise awareness of subjects in schools.

Finance: Clearing Houses

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for financial system stability of any change of control or ownership of LCH Clearnet.

Lord Sassoon: The Government welcome market developments that will increase efficiency, improve innovation and lower the cost of economic activity. The Government believe that it is important to look at the potential benefits to the market of any deal.
	As with any such corporate transaction, the Financial Services Authority will ensure that the owners of the clearing house are fit and proper persons; and that the clearing house continues to meet its recognition requirements as set out in the Recognised Investment Exchanges and Recognised Clearing Houses handbook. These requirements include the corporate governance arrangements and the financial resources, the management and controls of the clearing house.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help the Hamas Government in Gaza prevent action by militants.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our policy on Hamas is clear; the quartet has set out clearly that Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements. Hamas must make credible movement towards these conditions, which remain the benchmark against which its intentions should be judged. The clear focus for now must be a return to direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians as soon as possible.
	Hamas continues to pursue an ideology of violence and directly to undermine prospects for peace in the region. It is part of the problem. It has yet to provide evidence that it can also be part of the solution, and this must clearly be the case if we are to review our position.
	We have no plans to talk to Hamas at present. We are therefore not in a position to assess the extent of Hamas's control in Gaza or to work with it to tackle militancy. We do however raise these issues in our regular dialogue and co-operation on security issues with the Palestinian Authority. We will continue to call on all sides to act with restraint and avoid civilian casualties.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of the Hamas Government in Gaza to maintain security in the region.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Our policy on Hamas is clear; the quartet has set out clearly that Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements. Hamas must make credible movement towards these conditions, which remain the benchmark against which its intentions should be judged. The clear focus for now must be a return to direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians as soon as possible.
	Hamas continues to pursue an ideology of violence and directly to undermine prospects for peace in the region. It is part of the problem. It has yet to provide evidence that it can also be part of the solution, and this must clearly be the case if we are to review our position.
	We have no plans to talk to Hamas at present. We are therefore not in a position to assess the extent of Hamas's control in Gaza or to work with it to tackle militancy. We do however raise these issues in our regular dialogue and co-operation on security issues with the Palestinian Authority. We will continue to call on all sides to act with restraint and avoid civilian casualties.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel concerning fishing limits off the coast of Gaza.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK frequently raises with the Israeli authorities the issue of easing restrictions on Gaza, but we have not made specific representations concerning fishing limits off the coast of Gaza. There has been no fundamental change in the crossings regime, and economic stagnation and de-development in Gaza remain the norm, although Israel's decision to move from a list of 120 permitted goods to a list of specific prohibited items was a positive step. We are clear that more needs to be done, including on easing restrictions on exports, construction material imports and the movement of people.

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many veterans of the 1991 Gulf conflict have been awarded a war pension on the grounds of suffering from Gulf War illness.

Lord Astor of Hever: The War Pensions Scheme (WPS) provides no-fault compensation for all ex-Service personnel where illness, injury or death is caused by service before 6 April 2005.
	As at 31 March 2011, some 4,930 Gulf veterans were in receipt of disablement pensions, but these are not necessarily for anything that relates to Gulf service, as our statistics do not enable us to distinguish the origin of the disablement. Research conducted in the UK and the US has indicated that there is no illness that is specific to Gulf veterans.

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many veterans of the 1991 Gulf conflict self-administered Pyridostigmine Bromide; and how many suffered adverse side-effects as a result.

Lord Astor of Hever: It is not possible to verify how many of the 53,409 Gulf veterans self-administered Pyridostigmine Bromide, nor in what dose or duration individuals took the pre-treatment regime of nerve agent pre-treatment sets (NAPs). The uptake of NAPs was addressed in the Ministry of Defence paper Implementation of the Immunisation Programme against Biological Warfare Agents for UK Forces during the Gulf Conflict 1990-1991, published in January 2000, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Health Professions Council

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Health Professions Council is recruiting social workers to its employment before the Health and Social Care Bill has been enacted.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Ministers have approved the decisions of the Health Professions Council in recruiting social workers to its employment before the Health and Social Care Bill has been enacted.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the amount of public funds being spent by the Health Professions Council in anticipation of the enactment of the Health and Social Care Bill.

Earl Howe: The Health Professions Council (HPC) is independent of the department. Ministers have therefore not been asked to approve its decisions in recruiting social workers to its employment before the enactment of the Health and Social Care Bill 2011. However, the department would expect the Health Professions Council to take steps to ensure that it is prepared to take on the function of regulating social workers.
	The Department's understanding is that the HPC is in the process of recruiting up to 100 partners in advance of the enactment of the Health and Social Care Bill 2011. This is intended to ensure that it has access to the necessary expertise to support the transfer.
	The HPC's advertisements make it clear that any appointments made are subject to parliamentary approval of the proposals in the Health and Social Care Bill 2011.
	The department provided £0.24 million in the year 2010-11 to the HPC to help it to prepare its systems and processes ahead of the proposed transfer of functions from the General Social Care Council. A similar sum is expected to be allocated to the HPC in the year 2011-12, and a sum of £0.6 million in the first quarter of the year 2012-13. The department is monitoring this expenditure on a regular basis.

Health Protection Agency

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have regarding the future status of the Health Protection Agency.

Earl Howe: The Health Protection Agency will continue in its current role and retain its functions until April 2013 when, subject to Parliament, it will be abolished. The Health and Social Care Bill 2011 confers equivalent functions upon the Secretary of State. Subject to the normal government approval processes for establishing new bodies, we expect those functions to be discharged through Public Health England, an executive agency of the department.

Health: Alcoholism

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether an assessment has been made of the likelihood of rehabilitation of chronic alcoholics; whether research is planned to establish whether benefits above the basic level paid to them in respect of concomitant disabilities are currently spent on alcohol; and whether a review of general policy in this area will be undertaken.

Earl Howe: The term "chronic alcoholics" is not one that is used by the department, although we recognise that there are varying levels of alcohol dependence.
	The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007 indicated that in 2006-07 there were around 1.6 million adults showing symptoms of moderate or severe alcohol dependence. Of those, 111,381 people are estimated to have received treatment as indicated in the National Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System Annual Report 2009-10. This shows that 7 per cent of adults showing signs of dependence accessed treatment in that year. This compares to international models of good practice that suggest between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of the dependent population should be able to access treatment in any one year.
	The Review of the Effectiveness of Treatment for Alcohol Problems, published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse on November 2006, indicated that over 25 per cent of clients who participated in the United Kingdom Alcohol Treatment Trials, one of the largest treatment trials conducted in the UK, showed a successful outcome with no alcohol-related problems at follow-up. All the treatments studied produced significant improvements in alcohol consumption, alcohol dependence, alcohol-related problems and aspects of general functioning. It is highly unlikely that in most cases such changes would have occurred as a result of natural recovery processes.
	While a person's dependence may have led to unemployment or may have caused or exacerbated a medical condition, benefit payments are never made, or paid at an increased rate, solely because a person is dependent on drugs or alcohol.
	Where additional disability benefits are paid, this is in recognition of the fact that there are often additional costs associated with disability such as transport or care costs. The Government do not monitor what individuals spend their benefits on.
	The Government are reviewing the general policy towards the prevention and treatment of alcohol misuse in this country, and we will publish the Government's alcohol strategy towards the end of this year.

Health: Contaminated Blood Products

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision is being made for widows and dependants of NHS patients infected by contaminated blood to apply to the Skipton Fund when they are unable to access the required evidence, it having been destroyed or not found.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to my Written Answer on 26 April 2011, Official Report, col. WA62.

Health: Contaminated Blood Products

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the criteria for qualification for the Skipton stage 2 (additional) payment for NHS patients infected by contaminated blood and their families.

Earl Howe: There are no plans to conduct another review. However, we will consider potential changes to the Skipton Fund stage 2 eligibility criteria, in the light of new and emerging scientific evidence.

Health: Contaminated Blood Products

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place for the individuals infected with hepatitis C by contaminated blood products and their families living in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to receive payments through the Skipton Fund and the Caxton Foundation.

Earl Howe: The Skipton Fund is currently making payments in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Caxton Foundation has been set up on an England-only basis, but we are currently working with the devolved Administrations to expand its scope to cover the whole of the United Kingdom, when it becomes operational in October 2011.

Health: HIV

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the report of the Select Committee on HIV and Aids in the United Kingdom (HL Paper 118), whether they will commit to retaining the later HIV diagnoses indicator in the final Public Health Outcomes Framework.

Earl Howe: We have employed a set of criteria for selection of indicators for the public health outcomes framework. These criteria were published in the consultation on the public health outcomes framework. They have been further refined by feedback from the consultation and engagement exercises with key stakeholders. In the light of these criteria, Ministers will decide which indicators are included in the final outcomes framework to be published in the autumn.
	The department will publish its response to the report of the Select Committee on HIV and AIDS in the United Kingdom, No Vaccine, No Cure: HIV and AIDS in the United Kingdom,in due course. A copy of the Select Committee's report has already been placed in the Library.

Health: Medical Research

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Drayson on 4 November 2009 (WA 60) and by Baroness Wilcox on 31 January 2011 (WA 219-20), what were the specific outcomes of the two independent studies funded by the Medical Research Council; and what plans they currently have to fund further projects involving similar work.

Baroness Wilcox: In 2007, the Medical Research Council (MRC) awarded funding to Professor Mary Herbert at the University of Newcastle for the research project "Improving the efficiency of human somatic cell nuclear transfer" (SCNT). The project involved the MRC reimbursing part of the treatment costs of women undergoing IVF at the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life who chose to donate some of the surplus eggs produced to be used in the research.
	Due to the exceptional nature of this research project the MRC also funded an independent social science study to be undertaken alongside the research project to learn from women's experiences and to inform future research involving egg donation and payment of IVF treatment costs. The social science study, "An investigation of the experiences of potential in vitro fertilisation (IVF) donors in egg sharing for SCNT", was undertaken by Professor Erica Haimes, also at the University of Newcastle.
	Both studies have now ended and a report from Professor Haimes' social science study will be considered by the MRC's Ethics, Regulation and Public Involvement Committee at its next meeting. The findings from both studies will be reported in published research papers and presented at scientific conferences and meetings. Research papers relating to Professor Herbert's study are currently in preparation, and two papers relating to Professor Haimes' study have been published:
	Haimes, E. and Taylor, K., 2011: Researching the Relationships between Tissue Providers, Clinicians, and Stem Cell Scientists, Cell Stem Cell, 8(6) pp. 613-615.Haimes, E. and Taylor, K., 2011: The Contributions of Empirical Evidence to Socio-ethical Debates on Fresh Embryo Donation for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Bioethics, 25 (6) pp 334-341.
	The MRC will continue to support research into all approaches to harness the potential of stem cells to treat human disease as it is not evident at present which area of stem cell research may deliver the most effective treatments for particular conditions. More research is needed on all types of stem cells to determine which routes should be pursued in the development of cell-based therapies.

Health: Obesity

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to give appropriate guidance to the public on how personal lifestyle can reduce obesity.

Earl Howe: We want people to know that they can change their own and their families' lifestyle and in doing so they can make a difference to their health. What the Government can do is give the public clear, consistent messages on why they should change their lifestyle, how to do so, and put in place ways to make this easier.
	Later this year we will be publishing a document on obesity that will set out how obesity will be tackled in the new public health and National Health Service systems, and the role of key partners. This will also set out the action that the Government will take to help people make healthier choices and improve their lifestyles.

Health: Obesity

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect general practitioners to take the initiative in advising obese patients on how and why they should lose weight, even if the patient has not consulted the doctor on their obesity.

Earl Howe: We encourage general practitioners to implement guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children and, where appropriate, implement their local obesity care pathway to ensure that patients receive the support they need to manage their weight. GPs are currently encouraged through the Quality and Outcomes Framework to identify patients who are obese.
	The NICE guidance, available at www.nice.org.uk/CG43, recommends that "Healthcare professionals should use their clinical judgement to decide when to measure a person's height and weight. Opportunities include registration with a general practice, consultation for related conditions (such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease) and other routine health checks".

Health: Obesity

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will commission surveys to establish any correlation between obesity and age, socio-economic grouping, area of residence and occupation in England and Wales.

Earl Howe: The NHS Information Centre (NHS IC) currently collects data on obesity in England. The NHS IC surveys on obesity do not cover Wales. This is the responsibility of the Welsh Government.
	The Health Survey for England-2009: Health and Lifestyles report-includes tables showing body mass index (BMI) by age, sex, spearhead primary care trust status and equivalised household income for adults and children. This information is available on the NHS IC website at: www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles-related-surveys/health-survey-for-england/health-survey-for-england-2009-health-and-lifestyles. This document has already been placed in the Library.
	Data are also available in the UK Data Archive on obesity; this includes information on sex, age, socio-economic grouping, Strategic Health Authority (SHA), Government Office Region (GOR) and occupation classification. The data in the archive can be accessed at: www.data-archive.ac.uk/.
	In addition, the NHS IC collects information from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). Information is available for children in Reception (4-5 years) and year six (10-11 years). The National Child Measurement Programme: England, 2009/10 school year report provides high-level analysis of the prevalence of obese children, by school year, sex, SHA, ethnic category and by GOR, Local Authority County/Unitary Authority and Local Authority District/Former District. This information is available on the NHS IC website at: www.ic.nhs.uk/ncmp. This document has already been placed in the Library.
	The National Obesity Observatory (NOO) has undertaken a further analysis of the data from the NCMP. NCMP analysis using the ONS area classification, this is available on the NOO website and can be accessed at: www.noo.org.uk/. This document has been placed in the Library.

Higher Education

Baroness Brinton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, for the latest year available, how many adults aged 24 and over in England funded by the Skills Funding Agency were enrolled on (a) Level 3 courses, and (b) Level 4 courses; and in each case how many were studying on (1) a full-time basis, and (2) a part-time basis.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The following table shows the number of learners in further education (learner responsive) aged 24 years and over participating on a government-funded Level 3 or Level 4 and above qualification by mode of attendance in 2009-10, the latest year for which final data is available.
	
		
			 Further education (learner responsive) participation for learners aged 24 years and over by level and mode of attendance, 2009-10 
			  Full-time Part-time Total 
			 Level 3 30,640 158,810 189,400 
			 Level 4 and above 980 29,540 30,500 
			 Total learners 77,500 1,004,400 1,081,900 
		
	
	Source:
	individualised learner record.
	1. Further education provision in this table covers the learner responsive funding stream only. Learner responsive provision includes general further education colleges including tertiary, sixth form colleges-agricultural and horticultural colleges and art and design colleges, specialist colleges and external institutions. This data does not include participation in apprenticeships, train to gain, adult safeguarded learning or university for industry provision.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except total figures which are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3. The total learners figure includes learners studying on all other levels (Level 2, below Level 2, skills for life, no level assigned).
	4. Age is based on age at the start of the academic year.
	5. Full-time learners are defined as those learners studying a programme of a minimum of 450 guided learning hours in an academic year.
	Information on further education and skills participation and achievement and by level and mode of attendance is published in a supplementary table of a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 23 June 2011: http://www. thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/.

Higher Education: Student Loans

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the maximum amount a student from the least affluent background studying for a three-year course at a university charging the maximum permitted level can borrow under the 2012 student loans arrangements; and what will be the estimated level of debt to be repaid if, five years after graduating, their salary is less than £21,000 per year and the retail price index remains at five per cent.

Lord Henley: Full-time new entrants for courses beginning in 2012-13 will be able to apply for a non-means-tested tuition loan of up to £9,000 for each year of their course, making a total of £27,000 for a three-year course at a university charging the maximum level of tuition fees.
	Students can also apply for a maintenance loan for each year of their course. Students with the lowest household incomes (up to £25,000) will be entitled to the maximum non-repayable maintenance grant of £3,250. Their maintenance loan entitlement will be reduced as a result, by comparison with the entitlement of students from higher-income households. Assuming that a student is entitled to the maximum maintenance grant, the maximum amount that the student can borrow is set out below:
	
		
			  Living at the parental home Living away from parental home and studying in London Living away from parental home and studying elsewhere 
			 Total tuition fee loan £27,000 £27,000 £27,000 
			 Maintenance loan year 1 £2,750 £6,050 £3,875 
			 Maintenance loan year 2 £2,750 £6,050 £3,875 
			 Maintenance loan final year £2,395 £5,365 £3,490 
			 Maximum loan available for a 3-year course £34,895 £44,465 £38,240 
		
	
	The above figures assume that the institution is charging the maximum tuition level of £9,000 a year and the student has applied for the maximum amount of maintenance loan available to them. They do not take into account any support available from HEIs for students at the lowest incomes, eg tuition charge waivers or bursaries. Based on these figures, the balance five years after the statutory repayment due date (SRDD), assuming that inflation remains at 5 per cent and no repayments are made, would be:
	Students living at the parental home: £52,000.
	Students living away from the parental home and studying in London: £66,500.
	Students living away from the parental home and studying elsewhere: £57,000.

Homes and Communities Agency

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what land has been transferred or sold by the Homes and Communities Agency in Lancashire in 2010-11.

Baroness Hanham: The following sites were sold or disposed by the Homes and Communities Agency in Lancashire in the financial year 2010-11:
	
		
			 Address Town Area disposed (hectares) Net price (£) Exchanged date Completion date 
			 Preston East Sector A3 Preston 2.48 1,220,500 01/02/2011 01/02/2011 
			 Preston East Sector C Preston 2.96 53,850 12/08/2010 12/08/2010 
			 Walton Park 10D South Ribble 0.281 0 23/04/2010 23/04/2010 
			 Broughton Business Park Preston 0.403 4,000 05/07/2010 05/07/2010 
			 Ajd East of 78 Longmeanygate South Ribble 0.0642 1 11/08/2010 11/08/2010 
			   6.1882 1,278,351   
		
	
	Furthermore, a land package of amenity land in Preston totalling nearly 133 hectares was transferred by the agency on 31 March 2010, just prior to the start of 2010-11.

Homes and Communities Agency

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty's Government when was the report by the Homes and Communities Agency regarding the future of Cuerden Valley Park Trust received by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Baroness Hanham: While the Homes and Community Agency's analysis of the trust's position has largely been completed, further work continues on finalising the drafting, and departmental officials have seen and commented on this. The aim is to have the report finalised in preparation for an intended meeting between the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Andrew Stunell MP), Lindsay Hoyle MP and the trust in October.

House of Lords Reform Bill [HL]

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated cost of an election to the House of Lords under the single transferable vote as provided for in the draft House of Lords Reform Bill.

Lord McNally: The Government will carefully consider the costs of elections to the reformed House of Lords. The Government consider that these elections should take place at the same time as elections to the House of Commons. This will result in savings compared with two separate elections.

House of Lords: Reform

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty's Government which Ministers in the House of Commons and the House of Lords are responsible for House of Lords reform; and which Minister has overall responsibility.

Lord McNally: The Deputy Prime Minister, the right honourable Nick Clegg, has responsibility for House of Lords reform in the House of Commons, and overall responsibility. Lord Strathclyde has responsibility in the House of Lords

Identity Security: Iris Recognition

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government by what date it is expected that the UK Border Agency will have fully implemented the Iris Recognition System; and what is the total expenditure to date on the Iris Recognition System.

Lord Henley: IRIS has proven to be valuable test bed for the next generation of automation. We are currently considering the future of IRIS in the context of our operating model of the future and our wider automation at the border strategy. As of April 2011 the department had allocated £4.9 million in capital costs and £4.2 million in running costs in respect of the Iris Recognition Immigration System.

Immigration

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 5 September (HL11493), what was (a) the overall cost to public funds in 2010-11 of supporting illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom, (b) the number of illegal immigrants involved, and (c) the per capita cost per week; and how this compares with the years 2007-10.

Lord Henley: It is not possible to state the overall cost to public funds of supporting illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom. This is because the Government are unable to quantify accurately the number of illegal immigrants in the UK as some deliberately evade immigration control in order to remain in the country illegally. It follows that the Government are unable to provide any information on per capita costs of such support.

Immigration

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether illegal immigrants receive any living allowances in the United Kingdom; and, if so, how much.

Lord Henley: It is not possible to state the overall cost to public funds of supporting illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom. This is because the Government are unable to quantify accurately the number of illegal immigrants in the UK as some deliberately evade immigration control in order to remain in the country illegally. It follows that the Government are unable to provide any information on per capita costs of such support.

Immigration

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that the security staff employed by G4S to escort immigration detainees out of the United Kingdom are monitored by the UK Border Agency for the use of racist language or making offensive jokes.

Lord Henley: The UK Border Agency has a team of eight contract monitors who monitor and report on the performance of the escorting service provider. In addition, all service provider vehicles have CCTV fitted with audio capability. Members of the Independent Monitoring Board regularly report to the contract monitors and the Chief Inspector of Prisons also carries out announced and unannounced inspections. We expect the highest standards from our staff and contractors and will take appropriate robust action against those who fail to adhere to them.

Indonesia

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last made representations to the Ggovernment of Indonesia concerning religious freedom; and in particular whether they have received responses about the re-opening of GKI Yasmin Church in Bogor, West Java, and about violent attacks on members of the Ahmadiyya community.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are aware of the case of the GKI Yasmin Church in Bogor and of attacks on members of the Ahmadiyya community in Indonesia. On 4 August 2011 our embassy in Jakarta raised our concerns at the current freedom of religion situation in Indonesia with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the same day Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials raised the same concerns with the Indonesian embassy in London.
	The European Union has a regular dialogue with Indonesia on human rights and at the last meeting on 29 June in Jakarta, the EU raised freedom of religion and concerns over attacks on Ahmadis in Banten and Christian churches in central Java. On 28 July the EU released a statement on the sentencing of those convicted in attacks on Ahmadis recalling the need to ensure that religious and other minorities are adequately protected by the justice and law enforcement systems.
	We will continue to monitor the Indonesian authorities' policies towards freedom of religion and to stress to the Indonesian Government that hate crimes must be robustly investigated and that those found guilty of involvement should receive sentences commensurate with the severity of the crimes. We will also continue to work through the European Union to raise our concerns with Indonesia.

Iraq

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their position regarding current military activity by Iran and Turkey in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government take all attacks across borders seriously and pay close attention to the circumstances in which they occur. We call on all parties to co-operate with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government over the threat in the border areas, and have expressed our concern about indiscriminate Iranian shelling.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel concerning the fair and equal treatment of Israeli Arabs.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK attaches the highest importance to the values set out in Israel's declaration of independence and basic laws guaranteeing equal treatment to all its citizens, regardless of religion or background.
	Our ambassador to Tel Aviv, Matthew Gould, is committed to being an ambassador to all Israelis, including the country's Arab citizens. He regularly raises our concerns about unequal treatment and potentially discriminatory legislation. He recently lobbied the Israeli Minister of Trade and Labour over the affirmative action Bill/military service and its impact on Israeli Arabs, the ultra-orthodox and the disabled.
	One of our embassy's strategic goals is to help Israel become more inclusive, in particular through ensuring equal treatment for Israeli Arabs. Visiting UK Ministers routinely meet the Israeli Arab community, most recently the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), in June 2011 and the Minister of State for International Development, my right honourable friend the Member for Rutland & Melton (Mr Duncan), in July 2011, as well as frequent contact with visiting officials and Embassy staff. This year the UK has allocated £225,000 of conflict pool funding to Israeli Arab projects. A "high tech hub" will shortly be launched to help the Israeli Arab community become part of the Israeli economic mainstream through improved opportunities in the high-tech industry.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel regarding the release of the three members of parliament sheltering in the Red Cross Headquarters of East Jerusalem.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are aware that three Palestinian MPs continue to shelter at the International Committee of the Red Cross office in Jerusalem. The three Members are still present and say they will remain there until Israel changes the decision to revoke their Jerusalem residency status.
	The UK remains of the view that forcible transfer of people out of the city for political reasons is illegal under international humanitarian law. We regularly raise such practices with the Israeli authorities. However, we have not made representations on these specific cases.

Israel

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the United Nations Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla incident, published in September, and in particular on its conclusion regarding the legality of the blockade by Israel; and when they last made representations to the government of Israel about access for essential supplies for the population, in particular about building materials for United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools; and with what effect.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UN Palmer report into the Gaza flotilla in 2010 was published on 2 September. The UK supported the UN Secretary-General's establishment of an independent panel of inquiry. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) stated at the time that the UK deeply deplored the loss of life and urged strenuous efforts to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in future.
	The report makes clear that the events of 31 May should never have taken place. Turkey and Israel have made public statements on the report. We regret the breakdown in relationships between them and we continue to urge both sides to renew their efforts to find a way forward that will promote reconciliation and enhance regional stability.
	The situation in Gaza is of serious concern to the Government. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt) visited Gaza during his visit in June and raised this issue. He saw for himself a United Nations Relief and Works Agency school. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv and other officials regularly discuss the situation in Gaza with Israeli interlocutors, most recently with the Finance Ministry.
	While there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, there is an enduring need for humanitarian aid. We have also been clear that actions by both Israel and Hamas have contributed to this status quo. Working closely with the EU and the quartet, we will continue to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access and enable a return to economic normality.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the drafting of a consensus United Nations resolution to provide a framework for a final settlement between Israel and Palestine.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The best way to resolve this long-standing conflict is through direct negotiations. The UK is working with our European partners to find a way forward that increases the prospects of the Israelis and Palestinians returning to negotiations with the aim of achieving a final settlement. We wish to avoid confrontation at the UN but also to find a way to recognise the progress the Palestinians have made at their state-building efforts.
	The UK set out in February, in its explanation of vote on the UN Security Council resolution on settlements, the parameters within which negotiations should be conducted:
	An agreement on the borders of the two states, based on 4 June 1967 lines with equivalent land swaps as may be agreed between the parties;Security arrangements that, for Palestinians, respect their sovereignty and show that the occupation is over; and, for Israelis, that protect their security, prevent the resurgence of terrorism and deal effectively with new and emerging threats;A just, fair and agreed solution to the refugee question; and Fulfilment of the aspirations of both parties for Jerusalem. A way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of both states.
	The UK will continue to encourage the parties to reach an agreement along these lines. Whatever action is taken in New York, it is important that this increases the prospects for a return to negotiations.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to support negotiations between Israel and Palestine; and whether they are giving special attention to the possible effects of provocations or spoiling actions arising from any quarter.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK believes that the best way to resolve this long-standing conflict is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, with the aim of giving the Palestinian people the state that they need and deserve and the Israeli people long-term security and peace.
	So our focus remains on continuing to push hard for a return to negotiations on the basis agreed by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and President Obama. That is, borders based on 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps; security for Israel; and the right for Palestinians to govern themselves in a sovereign and contiguous state. We are working hard with our international partners for a return to negotiations on this basis. Failure to return to negotiations now puts at risk the long-term prospects for a solution. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians can afford to let the opportunity for peace slip further from their grasp.
	Along with our European Union partners, we are working to build consensus on a way forward that recognises the progress the Palestinians have made on their state-building efforts, that meets Israel's legitimate security concerns and that avoids confrontation in the UN. We continue to stress that whatever action is taken, including in New York, it is important that this increases the prospects for a return to negotiations.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support the creation of a seat at the United Nations for Palestine; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such a development on Palestine's negotiating position with regard to Israel.

Lord Howell of Guildford: My right honourable friend the Prime Minister made the UK's position on recognition of a Palestinian state clear during the visit of President Obama. He agreed with the President that a Palestinian state was a legitimate goal, and the best way of achieving this was through a comprehensive agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
	Palestinian action at the UN this month is now looking increasingly likely but it is not yet clear exactly what they are proposing. We are working with partners to build consensus on a way forward that recognises the progress the Palestinians have made on their state-building efforts, that meets Israel's legitimate security concerns, and that avoids confrontation in the UN. Whatever action is taken in New York, it is important that this increases the prospects for a return to negotiations.
	We have reserved our position on the question of recognition of a Palestinian state while we continue to urge all parties back to talks. Recognition is a matter for each Government to decide bilaterally, and if needed, we will take a decision nearer to the time, in consultation with EU and other partners.

Justice: Legal Services

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their reasons for deciding not to opt into the European Union Directive on Access to a Lawyer in Criminal Proceedings and on the Right to Communicate upon Arrest at the initial stage of the negotiations.

Lord McNally: The Government do not intend to opt into the European Union Directive on Access to a Lawyer in Criminal Proceedings and on the Right to Communicate upon Arrest at the initial stage of the negotiations because they are of the view that the directive as published by the Commission would have an adverse effect on our ability to investigate and prosecute offences effectively. However, the Government intend to work together with other member states to improve the directive and if our concerns are taken into account during the process of negotiation, the Government will consider opting in once the instrument has been adopted.

Kenya

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 11 August (WA 432), whether records have been retained regarding the number of people hanged in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising.

Lord Howell of Guildford: I can confirm that records relating to the number of people hung in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising are available in the National Archives. Some further records are contained within the Kenya files that are being transferred to the National Archives, from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has undertaken to release every part of every document relevant to the Mau Mau uprising, subject only to legal exemptions.

Libya

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to unfreeze Libyan assets for use by the Transitional National Council; and in particular, how they expect that necessary imports of food will be paid for.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK continues to work with partners at the UN to unfreeze Libyan assets for the benefit of the Libyan people. On 29 August 2011, the UN approved the release of 1.86 billion Libya dinars' worth of bank notes that had been frozen in the UK under the UN asset freeze. Within the existing UN sanctions regimes, there are several exemptions which enable member states, either by notifying or seeking the approval of the UN Sanctions Committee, to release frozen assets for the purchase of food and other necessities. Over the past six months, many requests of this nature have been agreed. There is no food security crisis in Libya but we continue to liaise closely with the World Food Programme, which is leading the UN food security response in Libya, to monitor the situation on the ground and respond appropriately.

Middle East Peace Process

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making within the European Union to work with other member states to utilise the collective financial strength of the European Union to support the Middle East peace process.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The EU and EU member states as a collective are the biggest financial supporters of the Palestinian Authority. In 2010 the EU gave a total of €377.9 million to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) and to Palestinian refugees in the region. The Department for International Development imputed share was €1.79 million. This is in addition to DfID's bilateral support, which totalled £73.1 million.
	The EU development programme for the OPTs is supporting a successful Middle East peace process by helping build Palestinian institutions, improving security and promoting economic growth, so that any future state will be stable, prosperous, well run and an effective partner for peace with Israel.

NHS: Clinical Indemnity

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 11 August (WA 369), on what date they will publish the proposals to enable non-NHS bodies to take up NHS clinical indemnity arrangements.

Earl Howe: We intend to publish the outcome of the National Health Service litigation authority industry review, alongside a "next steps" document, in the coming months. This will set out broadly how we intend to explore reform of the NHS clinical indemnity arrangements, the detail of which will be subject to further engagement with stakeholders.

NHS: Independent Providers

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether independent providers of NHS services will be public authorities within the meaning of paragraphs 43A and 44 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Earl Howe: Independent sector providers of public services are not public authorities for the purposes of paragraphs 43A and 44 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
	However, where National Health Service commissioners, as public authorities, contract with independent sector providers for the provision of healthcare services, the NHS standard contract requires that the provider shall assist and co-operate with each commissioner, in complying with its FOIA obligations, by providing the type of information as regards the provision of those services, which would be disclosable under the FOIA.

NHS: Peterborough Primary Care Trust

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the dates of the public consultation on the East of England Strategic Health Authority's proposal to amalgamate the Peterborough and Cambridge Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) into a single PCT; and what are the healthcare benefits to patients envisaged by the strategic health authority which will become available to patients served by the Peterborough Primary Care Trust as a result of the proposed amalgamation.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The table below shows the number of learners in further education (learner responsive) aged 24 years and over participating on a government-funded Level 3 or Level 4 and above qualification by mode of attendance in 2009-10, the latest year for which final data are available.
	
		
			 Table 1: Further Education (Learner Responsive) participation for learners aged 24 years and over by level and mode of attendance, 2009-10 
			  Full-time Part-time Total 
			 Level 3 30,640 158,810 189,400 
			 Level 4 and above 980 29,540 30,500 
			 Total Learners 77,500 1,004,400 1,081,900 
		
	
	Source:
	Individualised Learner Record Notes
	Further Education provision in this table covers the Learner Responsive funding stream only. Learner Responsive provision includes General Further Education Colleges including Tertiary, Sixth Form Colleges, Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and Art and Design Colleges, Specialist Colleges and External Institutions. The data do not include participation in Apprenticeships, Train to Gain, Adult Safeguarded Learning or University for Industry provision.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except total figures which are rounded to the nearest 100.
	3. The total learners figure includes learners studying on all other levels (Level 2, Below Level 2, Skills for Life, No Level Assigned).
	4. Age is based on age at the start of the academic year.
	5. Full-time learners are defined as those learners studying a programme of a minimum of 450 Guided Learning Hours in an academic year.
	Information on further education and skills participation and achievement by level and mode of attendance is published in a supplementary table of a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 23rd June 2011: http://www.thedata service.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/.

NHS: Peterborough Primary Care Trust

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money the Peterborough Primary Care Trust contracted to pay to the Peterborough NHS Hospital Trust in each of the past five financial years; and how much had actually been paid at the end of each financial year.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) permanent, and (b) acting, (1) chairmen, (2) chief executive officers, and (3) chief financial officers, were appointed by the East of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA) in the past five years; and how many of the appointees had previously worked in the National Health Service in the area for which this SHA was responsible.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, in each of the past five years, and in 2011-12 to date, what healthcare services which were previously made available by the Peterborough Primary Care Trust were withdrawn from availability to patients; and how many of those withdrawals were notified in advance to the East of England Strategic Health Authority.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much extra resources the Peterborough Primary Care Trust (PCT) has had authorised by the East of England Strategic Health Authority in each of the last five years in order to prevent the PCT from breaching its statutory financial responsibilities.

Earl Howe: Peterborough Primary Care Trust (PCT) has not had any transfer of funds authorised by the East of England Strategic Health Authority in each of the past five years in order to prevent the PCT from breaching its statutory financial responsibilities.
	In relation to how much money the PCT contracted to pay Peterborough NHS Hospital Trust, this is a matter for the local National Health Service and information is not collected centrally.
	In relation to how much had been paid at the end of each financial year, information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows Peterborough PCT's reported view of its expenditure in each of the past five financial years.
	
		
			 Peterborough Primary Care Trust - Expenditure with Peterborough & Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (£,000) 
			 2009-10 91,152 
			 2008-09 77,817 
			 2007-08 76,177 
			 2006-07 81,771 
			 2005-06 90,125 
		
	
	Source:
	Peterborough PCT audited summarisation schedules, 2006-07 to 2010-11
	 Asked by

NHS: Peterborough Primary Care Trust

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the East of England Strategic Health Authority will formally consult the Peterborough Hospital NHS Trust about its intention to amalgamate the Peterborough and Cambridge Primary Care Trusts.

Earl Howe: This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for the local National Health Service. The noble Lord may wish to raise any further concerns with, Sir Neil McKay, Chief Executive, NHS East of England Strategic Health Authority.

NHS: Reorganisation

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government from which consultancy firms they have commissioned work on re-organising the National Health Service since May 2010; what was the agreed fee for each consultancy firm; what were the formal terms of reference for each consultancy firm; and what discussions they have held with each consultancy firm on the purposes and ethos of the National Health Service.

Earl Howe: The department does hold cost information on the amount spent with external consultants. However, the information captured by this central record does not enable us to readily identify the expenditure that relates specifically to the Health and Social Care Bill and the current reforms to the National Health Service. In order to gather all possible relevant information, we would need to contact each business area and directorate in the department, requiring them to check their records. This undertaking would amount to a substantial effort across the department and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Northern Ireland Office: Consultants

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultants the Northern Ireland Office has employed in each of the last five years; for what purpose; at what cost; and when.

Lord De Mauley: Comparable figures for the department as it is now configured are not available before 12 April 2010, following the completion of devolution of policing and justice functions. Since that time the department has not employed any consultants.

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 5 September (WA 11), why Hilary Jackson, the director-general of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), left her position under the Cabinet Office-agreed early departure scheme for civil servants; what were the terms agreed and the costs of her departure; and at what age her pension will become payable.

Lord De Mauley: Following the devolution of policing and justice and the successful establishment of the Northern Ireland Office in its current form, the director-general indicated her intention to move on after six years in the department. She will leave once her successor has been identified. Her departure terms will then be finalised. Her pension arrangements are determined by the principal civil service pension scheme.

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 2 September (WA 45) concerning staff in the Northern Ireland Office, at what age Hilary Jackson's pension will become payable.

Lord De Mauley: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 12 September, Official Report, col. WA 45.

Northern Ireland Office: Taxis

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what taxis were used by staff of the Northern Ireland Office on 15 July 2011; by whom; for what; and at what cost.

Lord De Mauley: Taxis were used on four occasions on 15 July 2011 by staff of the Northern Ireland Office. The taxis were used for the purposes of official business. The total cost of these taxis amounted to £85.60.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the terms and conditions of appointment of Professor Michael O'Flaherty as chairman of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The appointment of Professor O'Flaherty was announced by way of a press release that included the key points of his terms and conditions of appointment including length of appointment, remuneration and a list of all other ministerial public appointments held. His appointment is also subject to the provisions of Schedule 7 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were interviewed for the position of Chairman of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; how the interviewers were selected; who selected them; and when.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Appointment to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) which requires all stages of a public appointments process to be undertaken by a selection panel that includes a senior official from the sponsor department, a representative from the public body or other interested group, an Independent Public Appointments Assessor and, where appropriate, a technical expert.
	A selection panel for the position of Chief Commissioner of the NIHRC was approved by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in advance of the launch of the appointments process. The panel was chaired by Hilary Jackson, Director General of the Northern Ireland Office, and included a senior official from OFMdFM, an independent expert in the field of human rights and equality and an Independent Public Appointments Assessor. The selection panel interviewed six individuals for the position.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much time per year it is expected that Michael O'Flaherty, the new chairman of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, will spend at the United Nations in Geneva; and whether this arrangement is set out in his terms and conditions.

Lord De Mauley: As previously stated in the Answer given by the Lord Shutt of Greetland, on 7 September, col. WA 32, Professor Michael O'Flaherty's terms and conditions of appointment require him to work such hours as are reasonably necessary to fulfill his role as chief commissioner. How the new chief commissioner chooses to allocate his time in fulfilling his responsibilities is a matter for him.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is the role of the chairman of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to ensure that the legal team of the commission actively seeks complaints from remand prisoners affected by the solicitors' strike.

Lord De Mauley: The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission operates independently of government. Decisions about how it carries out its functions as defined in legislation are a matter for the commission. The noble Lord may wish to contact the commission directly should he wish to pursue this matter further.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they approved the reorganisation of senior posts in the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

Lord De Mauley: The organisational structure of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an operational matter for the commission, which operates independently of government. However, the NIHRC is required to seek departmental approval when it wishes to increase staff numbers above the agreed headcount. On this occasion, approval was not required as the headcount was reduced.

Parliamentary Constituencies

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in consultation with the Boundary Commission to ensure that the proposed new constituency boundaries are made known to the local media in Counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry.

Lord McNally: The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland published initial proposals for new parliamentary constituency boundaries in Northern Ireland on 13 September. In making their proposals, each of the four independent boundary commissions must comply with the legal duties imposed on them, including the requirement in Section 5 of the amended Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to take such steps as they think fit to inform people in each proposed constituency of the proposed boundary changes. Additionally, Section 5 requires the boundary commissions to make a copy of these proposals available for inspection at a specified place within each newly proposed constituency. It is a matter for the boundary commissions to judge how to fulfil their statutory obligations most appropriately.

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011

Lord Lipsey: To ask Her Majesty's Government which provisions of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 can take effect only after orders have been passed by both Houses of Parliament.

Lord McNally: Section 10(6) of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 modifies an existing power in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to make delegated legislation, but does not confer a new power. It provides that the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament the draft of an Order in Council giving effect to the final recommendations of the boundary commissions on redrawing the parliamentary constituency boundaries of the UK. This order can take effect only if approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.
	The Act contained three more powers under which any orders made would need to be approved by resolution of each House. One of those powers was repealed in July 2011 and the remaining two cannot be exercised after 5 May 2011.
	A table summarising orders subject to the affirmative procedure in the 2011 Act has been placed in the library of both Houses.

Passports

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many passports the Belfast Office issued in the first six months of this year.

Lord Henley: For the period January 2011 until June 2011, the Identity and Passport Service issued 239,958 passports in the Belfast office.

Pensions

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many annual Christmas bonuses were paid to those in receipt of the state pension, and at what administration cost, for the most recent period for which figures are available.

Lord Freud: Around 11 million people in receipt of State Pension received the annual Christmas bonus of £10 in 2010-11.
	The majority of Christmas bonus payments are made with a qualifying benefit and, as such, it is not possible to disaggregate the administration cost. However, these costs are minimal as the significant majority of payments are automated. (Source: DWP Benefit Expenditure Business Information Data)

Police: Funding

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police staff hours are represented by the estimated £10 million policing costs of the Dale Farm evictions, and whether they will reconsider the £5.85 million funding grant for this purpose in the light of other demands on police resources.

Baroness Browning: £10 million represents an estimated maximum policing cost that may be necessary to deal with the Dale Farm evictions. It is a matter for Essex Police, with its police authority, to plan for the resource requirements of policing operations.
	The Home Office has agreed to support Essex Police in the policing operation linked to the evictions, offering funding that is limited to a maximum of £4.65 million. This amount is final and will not be reconsidered.

Presumed Deaths

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for Benjamin orders have been made to the Chancery Division of the High Court over the past three years; and how many were granted.

Lord McNally: The Ministry of Justice does not hold centrally information on the number of applications for Benjamin orders and the number of these that were granted. While such applications and orders will be logged on to the administrative computer systems used in the Chancery Division of the High Court, they cannot be distinguished from other types of applications and orders made. As such, the information requested can be obtained only through the manual inspection of individual case files, held by the courts, at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Population

Lord Fellowes: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners in England and Wales are currently doubling up in cells designed for one occupant, or held three to a cell in cells designed for two.

Lord McNally: The average number of prisoners held in overcrowded accommodation during 2010-11 was 20,211 (23.8 per cent of population).
	Within this total the average number of prisoners doubling up in cells designed for one occupant was 19,268 (22.7 per cent of the total prison population) and there were on average 829 prisoners held three to a cell in cells designed for two (1.0 per cent of population). (Overcrowding in other units of accommodation, such as dormitories, will also contribute to the total).
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Public Procurement

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether differential credit ratings and credit worthiness gave any advantage to Siemens, as the preferred bidder, over Bombardier in the award of the Thameslink contract.

Lord De Mauley: The project was structured as a package, to build, finance and maintain the trains over, potentially, a 30-year contract period. Accordingly, the capability of bidding consortia to finance a deal was analysed as part of the evaluation process. The credit rating of bidding consortia was not a determining factor in the award of the contract.

Public Procurement

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they took to manage any potential conflict of interest for consultants working on the Thameslink rolling stock project who were also working for one or more potential bidders; and what due diligence was performed in these cases.

Lord De Mauley: Consultants and lawyers are required to declare any conflicts of interest as part of the selection process and throughout the life of the contract.

Public Procurement

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are currently employed in train procurement at the Department for Transport; and how many of those employees have (a) engineering, (b) finance, (c) legal, and (d) operational qualifications.

Lord De Mauley: The Department for Transport currently has a core team of nine officials directly employed on rolling stock procurement. The table below sets out the number of employees with (a) engineering, (b) finance, (c) legal, and (d) operational qualifications working on rolling stock procurement.
	
		
			 Engineering Finance Legal Operations 
			 2 3 2 1

Public Procurement

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the public procurement rules contained in the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 or the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 were used for letting the Thameslink rolling stock contract; and on what basis the decision was taken to apply the regulations in question.

Lord De Mauley: The letting of the Thameslink rolling stock contract was in accordance with the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006. It is in the public interest that the decisions taken by the Secretary of State for Transport are taken in a fully informed legal context. Communications between the Secretary of State and his legal advisers are subject to the legal advice privilege.

Railways: European Train Management System

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government from where the proposal to pilot the European Railway Transport Management System (ERTMS) originated; who took the final decision to pilot the ERTMS; and who took the decision to pilot the ERTMS on the Cambrian Line.

Lord De Mauley: The Cambrian Coast was identified as an early deployment site for ERTMS by the Strategic Rail Authority in 2003, after consultation with the rail industry and key stakeholders. Consequently the Rail Regulator, in his Access Charges Review 2003: Final Conclusions, allowed for Network Rail to be funded to commence development during Control Period 3 (2004-05 to 2008-09).

Railways: European Train Management System

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what have been the total costs to date of (a) installing, and (b) operating and maintaining, the European Railway Transport Management System on the Cambrian Line.

Lord De Mauley: The Department for Transport does not hold this information. Network Rail is funded to deliver, operate and maintain the Cambrian ERTMS deployment. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), which is responsible for the economic regulation of the national rail network, will consider the costs of the Cambrian deployment as part of its regular reviews.

Railways: European Train Management System

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government by how much the European Railway Transport Management System has reduced signal failures on the Cambrian Line.

Lord De Mauley: This is an operational matter for Network Rail as it is responsible for monitoring infrastructure performance. Network Rail can be contacted as follows: David Higgins, Network Rail, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG.

Railways: European Train Management System

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government by how much the European Railway Transport Management System has improved punctuality on the Cambrian Line.

Lord De Mauley: This is an operational matter for Network Rail as it is responsible for monitoring performance and punctuality. Network Rail can be contacted as follows: David Higgins, Network Rail, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG.

Railways: European Train Management System

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a cost-benefit analysis of the European Railway Transport Management System (ERTMS) pilot on the Cambrian Line has been undertaken; and what were the results.

Lord De Mauley: A separate cost-benefit analysis has not been undertaken for the Cambrian line as this is a pilot for the planned national ERTMS implementation plan for which there is a positive business case recognised by its inclusion in the industry's investment plans for Control Period 4 (2009-14). The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is responsible for the economic regulation of the national rail network and will consider the Cambrian deployment as part of its regular reviews.

Railways: Thameslink

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the outcome of their technical risk assessment associated with the paper design on which the preferred bidder's tender for the Thameslink contract was based.

Lord De Mauley: The outcome of the assessment was that the Department for Transport is satisfied that the risks associated with the train design submitted can be managed and mitigated by the preferred bidder.

Railways: Thameslink

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what would be the costs associated with the cancellation of the Thameslink contract.

Lord De Mauley: We would expect Network Rail and the Department for Transport to incur significant cancellation costs, but these have not been quantified. Cancelling the Thameslink programme would delay or defer the additional capacity that Thameslink will provide for London commuters and prevent the cascade of around 400 rail vehicles that will be released for redeployment elsewhere and which are urgently needed to address overcrowding.
	As there has already been significant expenditure on the Thameslink programme of £1.5 billion to date, with a further £0.7 billion committed, largely on the infrastructure works, any delay would adversely impact on the value for money of this expenditure by adding significant prolongation costs and delaying the realisation of the benefits.

Railways: Thameslink

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the recent press reports that cancelling the Thameslink contract entirely would delay the award of the contract for new trains by up to three years, what is their assessment of the shortest delay that might be incurred by such a cancellation.

Lord De Mauley: The consequences of abandoning the current procurement process would be significant. The Department for Transport could not simply stop the current procurement and immediately start a new one but would need to demonstrate that the current procurement is inappropriate then formulate a revised scope for any future procurement.
	Based on experience to date, thereafter a procurement exercise for a train project of this complexity, involving an innovative design with requirements for maintenance, finance and depots would take between two and three years to conclude.

Railways: Thameslink

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government over what time period the calculation was based that the Siemens bid for the Thameslink contract offered best value for money to taxpayers; and what factors were included in the calculations.

Lord De Mauley: The whole life and whole industry cost assessment of the Thameslink bids was based over a 30-year period. The factors that were included in the calculations were:
	train leasing costs;
	depot leasing costs;
	train maintenance costs;
	train energy consumption;
	VTISM (this is the Vehicle Track Interaction Strategic Model, which calculates the links between inputs, such as track and vehicle characteristics, and outputs, such as rail-life, wheel-life and maintenance regimes);
	performance (the assessment of the likely delays caused by each unit type, based upon the bidders train reliability calculations); and
	risk adjustments (to the extent that the bidder has indicated, in commercial propositions or its response to the Thameslink rolling stock project agreements, any changes to the levels of liability, performance regime or allocation of risks.
	The evaluation criteria and evaluation process are contained in the Thameslink rolling stock project invitation to tender dated 27 November 2008, a copy of which is available on the Department for Transport website at www.dit.gov.uk/pqr/rail/pi/thameslinkrollingstock.

Railways: Train Design

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 5 September (WA 22-23), how the design and manufacture in Japan of the Hitachi trains for the Intercity express programme contract will act as a stimulus to the United Kingdom rolling stock design and building capacity.

Lord De Mauley: Agility Trains (the Hitachi consortium for IEP) propose to assemble the IEP train in a new factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, creating 600 permanent jobs. Only the first few prototype vehicles will be fully assembled in Japan, with the remainder built in the UK. As is consistent with the global nature of the rolling stock supply chain, Agility expect to procure a significant proportion of components for the trains from the UK, Europe and internationally.

Retail: Mary Portas Review

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a consultation document has been issued, or any public evidence sessions held, as part of the review of the United Kingdom's high street being carried out by Ms Mary Portas; and when the outcome of the review will be published.

Baroness Wilcox: No consultation document has been issued as part of the high streets review led by Mary Portas. However, as part of the evidence-gathering exercise members of the public were invited to submit their views either through the BIS or Mary Portas websites on what the Government, local authorities, businesses and the third sector could do to create diverse and sustainable high streets. The deadline for contributions was 31 August and over 2,100 responses were uploaded on to the Mary Portas and BIS websites along with a number of submissions received by mail. In addition, the review incorporates an extensive and ongoing programme of stakeholder engagement, including high-street visits, meetings with key stakeholders, workshops and a meeting with MPs. Mary Portas' review is expected to be published later in the year.

Roads: Advertising Hoardings

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to end the practice of private advertising hoardings being displayed on static vehicles parked on land adjacent to motorways and trunk roads.

Baroness Hanham: Private advertising hoardings can be displayed on static vehicles on land adjacent to a motorway, provided that it is done with the prior permission of the landowner and with express consent from the relevant local planning authority. Local planning authorities have a range of enforcement powers under which they can require the removal of such advertising on either amenity or public safety grounds.

Schools: Religion

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Chief Inspector of Schools has not published a separate report on collective worship in schools since the report of 1992-93, and whether they will request the Chief Inspector to conduct a new inquiry with a view to ascertaining the rates of compliance with sections 70 and 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, for comparison with the equivalents in the report of 1992-93.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Ofsted school inspections are primarily concerned with outcomes for pupils. There is therefore no specific requirement on Ofsted to report on the extent to which schools comply with their responsibilities to provide a daily act of collective worship, and no plans to commission Ofsted to report specifically on this matter. As part of school inspections, Ofsted is required to report on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. Where a school's non-compliance with a statutory duty is considered to be having a negative impact on pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, inspectors will reflect this in their assessment of the school.

Schools: Transport

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hill of Oareford on 11 August (WA 476), what steps they are taking to ensure that maximum use is made of existing bus service networks for school and social transport before separate vehicles are hired; and what consideration they have given to advocating approaches such as those being used in Dorset.

Lord De Mauley: We welcome Dorset's innovative approach to procuring bus services, which we understand has both saved money and served as a launch pad for new commercial services. Officials from the Department for Transport will be working with local transport professionals to ensure that such best practice can, where appropriate, be replicated across the country.

Taxation

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 20 May 2008 (WA 186), whether they will publish in the same form the top rate of direct tax on personal incomes in the United Kingdom for each year from 1975-76 to 2010-11.

Lord Sassoon: An updated version of the table given in the reply of the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, to the noble Lord of 20 May 2008 (WA 186) is given below:
	
		
			  Single/basic, non-aged personal allowance for a man with no children Taxable income above which the highest rate is charged Highest rate of income tax charged Financial year average Retail Price Index Single/basic, non-aged personal allowance for a man with no children at 2010-11 prices Taxable income above which the highest rate is charged at 2010-11 prices 
			 1975-76 675 20,000 98% 35.91 4,257 126,135 
			 1976-77 735 20,000 98% 41.40 4,021 109,408 
			 1977-78 945 21,000 98% 47.19 4,535 100,784 
			 1978-79 965 24,000 98% 51.11 4,276 106,347 
			 1979-80 1165 25,000 75% 59.19 4,458 95,656 
			 1980-81 1375 27,750 75% 68.85 4,523 91,281 
			 1981-82 1375 27,750 75% 76.77 4,056 81,864 
			 1982-83 1565 31,500 75% 82.20 4,312 86,788 
			 1983-84 1785 36,000 75% 86.03 4,699 94,770 
			 1984-85 2005 38,100 60% 90.37 5,025 95,482 
			 1985-86 2205 40,200 60% 95.71 5,218 95,124 
			 1986-87 2335 41,200 60% 98.78 5,354 94,460 
			 1987-88 2425 41,200 60% 102.72 5,347 90,837 
			 1988-89 2605 19,300 40% 108.88 5,419 40,145 
			 1989-90 2785 20,700 40% 117.38 5,373 39,939 
			 1990-91 3005 20,700 40% 128.74 5,286 36,415 
			 1991-92 3295 23,700 40% 134.85 5,534 39,803 
			 1992-93 3445 23,700 40% 139.11 5,609 38,584 
			 1993-94 3445 23,700 40% 141.48 5,515 37,938 
			 1994-95 3445 23,700 40% 145.35 5,368 36,928 
			 1995-96 3525 24,300 40% 150.08 5,319 36,669 
			 1996-97 3765 25,500 40% 153.73 5,547 37,567 
			 1997-98 4045 26,100 40% 158.81 5,768 37,221 
			 1998-99 4195 27,100 40% 163.76 5,802 37,478 
			 1999-2000 4335 28,000 40% 166.35 5,902 38,120 
			 2000-01 4385 28,400 40% 171.33 5,796 37,541 
			 2001-02 4535 29,400 40% 173.88 5,907 38,293 
			 2002-03 4615 29,900 40% 177.52 5,888 38,146 
			 2003-04 4615 30,500 40% 182.48 5,728 37,853 
			 2004-05 4745 31,400 40% 188.15 5,712 37,796 
			 2005-06 4895 32,400 40% 193.11 5,741 37,998 
			 2006-07 5035 33,300 40% 200.32 5,692 37,648 
			 2007-08 5225 34,600 40% 208.58 5,673 37,569 
			 2008-09 6035 34,800 40% 214.78 6,364 36,696 
			 2009-10 6475 37,400 40% 215.80 6,795 39,250 
			 2010-11 6475 150,000 50% 226.48 6,475 150,000 
		
	
	A single personal allowance was replaced with a basic personal allowance in 1990-91.
	For 1975-76 to 1983-84, the highest rate charged includes investment income surcharge at 15 per cent, but this total rate would only apply if the taxpayer's income included investment income greater than the threshold for the highest rate of surcharge, which varied between £2,000 in 1973-74 and £7,100 in 1983-84.
	From 2010-11 the highest rate of tax is at the additional rate of 50 per cent. The higher rate of tax at 40 per cent is due on taxable incomes exceeding £37,400.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Selkirk of Douglas: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Myners on 5 October 2009 (WA 407), what percentage of the respective populations of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland either paid or are projected to pay income tax in 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12.

Lord Sassoon: The estimated proportions of the total population in each country with an income tax liability are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland 
			 2006-07 52% 50% 53% 45% 
			 2007-08 53% 51% 54% 46% 
			 2008-09 51% 48% 52% 44% 
			 2009-10 49% 46% 50% 42% 
			 2010-11 49% 47% 50% 42% 
			 2011-12 48% 46% 49% 41% 
		
	
	These figures are based on estimates for the number of taxpayers in 2006-07, 2007-08 and projections for later years prepared by HM Revenue and Customs from the Survey of Personal Incomes. The figures also draw on population estimates from mid-2006 to mid-2010 and projections for later years, prepared by the Office for National Statistics.

Transport: Heavy Goods Vehicles

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to extend the maximum allowed length or cubic capacity of heavy goods vehicles in the United Kingdom.

Earl Attlee: The Government have recently consulted on a proposal to extend the maximum permitted loading length of semi-trailers from the existing limit of 13.6 metres to a maximum of 15.65 metres. This would permit a loading length for articulated vehicles equal to that already permitted for rigid truck/drawbar trailer combination vehicles.
	The Government have no plans to extend the maximum allowed overall length of heavy goods vehicles beyond the limit of 18.75 metres already permitted for rigid truck/drawbar trailer combination vehicles. The Government have made it clear that megatrucks (i.e. those typically 25.25 metres long or greater) will not be allowed on the UK's roads for the foreseeable future.

Transport: MoT Scheme

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to announce their consultation on the frequency of MoT studies of vehicles; and when it is expected to conclude.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: We expect to be in a position to clarify the scope and timing of the review in the autumn. There will be an opportunity for anyone with an interest to contribute to the debate.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 5 September (WA 13), who were the other businessmen the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Mr Henry Bellingham, met during his visit to the Turks and Caicos Islands in July.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), also met local politicians and members of the Advisory Council and Consultative Forum, many of who are business men and women. He had specific meetings with Mr Kelly Sullivan, Developer; Mr Courtney Missick, Farmer; and Messrs Giora Israel and John Young of Carnival Cruise Lines.

Universal Credit

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the exact quotation from Wikeley, Ogus and Barendt's The Law of Social Security, to which footnote 1 of Universal Credit Policy Briefing Note 2 refers in support of the argument that "it has been suggested that Government interference in household budgeting arguably undermines individual responsibility".

Lord Freud: The paragraph in The Law of Social Security concerns deductions from benefit at source. The relevant section on page 334 reads as follows, with the pertinent sentence highlighted:
	"The underlying policy is to help claimants who have shown themselves, perhaps only temporarily, incapable of budgeting for their own needs. The number of cases involved is considerable. In 1999 there were 606,000 deductions for social fund repayments and 131,000 for overpayment recoveries in a typical week. In all some 29 per cent of income support recipients have deductions from benefit made at source. While a prudent use of these powers can prevent a crisis of eviction or fuel disconnection which might otherwise arise, this type of intervention in a claimant's financial affairs arguably undermines individual responsibility and self-reliance. In addition, the SSAC has drawn attention to the dangers of the proliferation of such deductions, which 'is likely to lead to a large number of items competing for a finite amount or the possibility that creditors' bills are met at the expense of food and other essential items of day to day living'".

Universities: Funding

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 11 August (WA 450-1), whether there are any legal reasons why university students from England and Wales who study in Scottish Universities are not financially disadvantaged compared with other students from the European Union studying in Scotland.

Lord De Mauley: The tuition fees charged by Scottish universities are a matter for the Scottish Government. Eligible English students studying at Scottish universities will continue to have access to loans of up to £9,000 per year from Student Finance England to cover their tuition costs.
	Under EU law, member states cannot discriminate on grounds of nationality against people from other member states in the conditions of access to vocational training, which includes higher education. Where certain residency and nationality conditions are met, EU nationals and their family members qualify for home fee status and will therefore be treated the same for tuition fees as UK nationals who also satisfy the residency conditions.
	As Scottish universities do not charge Scottish students for tuition, they therefore cannot charge EU nationals from outside the UK for tuition. EU law does not, however, prevent different treatment within different parts of a member state, so Scottish universities are able to charge for tuition to students from elsewhere in the UK.
	It is for the Welsh Assembly Government to decide how they wish to fund Welsh-domiciled students.

Airports: Security

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the average times for European Union (EU, European Economic Area (EEA) and non EU/EEA passengers to pass through UK Border Agency and HM Revenue and Customs checks at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted, (d) Birmingham International, (e) Glasgow, (f) Edinburgh, (g) Nottingham East Midlands, (h) Humberside, (i) London Luton, (j) Newcastle, and (k) Belfast International airports in each year from 2005 until records are available.

Lord Henley: Average waiting times at the ports in question, which are only available from August 2007 onwards, are set out below:
	
		
			 Average queue length Aug-Dec 2007 Jan-Dec 2008 Jan-Dec 2009 Jan-Dec 2010 Jan-Aug 2011 
			  EEA NonEEA EEA NonEEA EEA NonEEA EEA NonEEA EEA NonEEA 
			 Belfast International 00:08 00:06 00:07 00:04 00:09 00:06 00:08 00:06 00:09 00:07 
			 Birmingham International 00:07 00:13 00:06 00:08 0005 00:08 00:07 00:12 00:07 00:12 
			 East Midlands (1) - - - - 00:14 00:29 0013 - 00:12 - 
			 Edinburgh 00:15 00:16 00:09 00:07 00:08 00:07 00:07 00:08 00:09 00:09 
			 Gatwick 00:10 00:20 00:08 00:15 00:06 00:09 00:05 00:08 00:05 00:07 
			 Glasgow 00:20 00:18 00:06 00:06 00:06 00:08 00:06 00:08 00:07 00:10 
			 Heathrow 00:05 00:14 00:02 00:07 0002 00:00 00:04 00:12 00:05 00:18 
			 Humberside 00:12 00:14 00:14 00:13 00:13 00:08 00:11 00:09 00:13 00:11 
			 Luton 00:08 00:10 00:07 00:08 00:06 00:07 00:10 00:11 00:09 00:09 
			 Newcastle (2) 00:12  00:11 - 00:09 00:21 00:10 00:25 00:11 00:23 
			 Stansted 00:07 00:09 00:08 00:08 00:06 00:07 00:05 00:08 00:15 00:21 
		
	
	Notes:
	(1) Collection of MI for East Midlands commenced in 2009, a single queue system has been in operation since 2010.
	(2) Collection of MI for Newcastle commenced in 2009.
	The UK Border Agency strives to provide a high standard of customer service at the border and is committed to expediting the entry of legitimate passengers whilst at the same time maintaining security at the border.
	As part of the agenda we will publish performance against our measure which is "clearance of passengers at the border within published service standards". Our current target is to clear 95 per cent of EEA passengers within 25 minutes of joining the queue and non EEA passengers within 45 minutes. Current year to date performance sits at 97 per cent.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contingency plans they have made to enable conventional F35C aircraft to remain airborne in the event of blocked flight deck emergencies on their parent aircraft carrier.

Lord Astor of Hever: All Joint Strike Fighter variants, including the F35C, have inherent air-to-air refuelling capabilities in order to both extend their range for operations and to provide contingency in the event of a runway or flight deck emergency. Work is under way to assess the most cost-effective means of delivering an embarked refuelling capability. We anticipate completing this work by March 2012 and will use its output to inform future decisions on the Carrier Strike programme.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government what studies they have made of the possible effects of cat and trap operations from aircraft carriers upon the fatigue life of F35C aircraft.

Lord Astor of Hever: The F35C has been designed as a carrier aircraft, with its structure optimised for catapult take-offs and arrested landings. The Joint Strike Fighter programme has conducted extensive ground and airborne structural testing to demonstrate that the aircraft's fatigue life is sufficient to allow it to operate for its intended lifespan. This testing has culminated in the successful catapult launch of an F35C at Lakehurst Air Force Base in July. The UK maintains a close oversight of this testing regime, using expertise from within Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and QinetiQ.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have made for penalty clauses in the contracts to supply an electromagnetic catapult system for their proposed aircraft carriers in the event of delays in delivery or performance shortfalls.

Lord Astor of Hever: We have not yet placed any contracts for the provision of aircraft launch and recovery equipment for the operational Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier.
	As part of our ongoing investigations into conversion we are working with suppliers to ensure they are fully aware and capable of meeting our schedule requirement. The nature of any penalty clauses will be dependent on the contracting arrangement we adopt.
	We expect final decisions on conversion to be taken in late 2012.

Armed Forces: Atomic Test Veterans

Baroness Brinton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Freedom of Information requests the Ministry of Defence has received from atomic test veterans and their families; and how many have been responded to.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Ministry of Defence does not record this information.

Armed Forces: Atomic Test Veterans

Baroness Brinton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money has been spent by the Ministry of Defence on litigation in relation to atomic test veterans.

Lord Astor of Hever: The latest estimate of the costs incurred up to 15 April 2011 by the Ministry of Defence in defending the atomic tests veterans' litigation was £4,937,615.98.
	This costs estimate included all the work required for the High Court hearing in 2009, the subsequent Court of Appeal hearing in 2010 and some preparatory work for the Supreme Court hearing of the Veterans' application for permission to appeal held on 28 July 2011.

Armed Forces: Defence Estates

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total value of the assets owned by Defence Estates that have been disposed of in each of the past five years.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what Ministry of Defence projects have been part or fully funded by the sale of assets owned by Defence Estates in each of the past five years.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how often Defence Estates reviews its assets as part of a programme of disposal.

Lord Astor of Hever: The total accrued receipts from the sale of Ministry of Defence (MoD) land and property assets in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial Year Amount in £ million 
			 2006-07 394 
			 2007-08 1,160 
			 2008-09 110 
			 2009-10 77 
			 2010-11 50 
		
	
	As part of the spending review, the MoD agreed asset disposal targets with HM Treasury and net budgets were set accordingly over each of the past five years. Disposal targets included those arising from the disposal of assets owned by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation but individual projects are not directly linked to funding generated from asset sales.
	The MoD benefited from those disposals which, together with other sources of income, contributed towards the overall funding allocated for defence expenditure.
	The MoD keeps its estate under constant review to meet present and planned future requirements, with a view to disposing of surplus land and property assets as quickly as possible in accordance with Treasury guidelines as set out in Managing Public Money. The outcome of the department's basing review, announced by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Liam Fox) in the other place on 18 July 2011 (Official Report, Commons, cols. 643-645) confirmed our intent to continue to drive efficiencies in the use of the defence estate.

Armed Forces: Defence Estates

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government how often they have used consultants to advise on the disposal of assets owned by Defence Estates in the past five years; and what has been the cost.

Lord Astor of Hever: In order to maximise departmental return, and because appropriate skills are not held in-house, the Ministry of Defence has used a variety of consultants, as necessary, to advise on the disposal of land and property assets in the past five years, at a total cost of some 17.9 million including actual legal costs and marketing fees. This represents some one per cent of the department's total receipt.

Armed Forces: Defence Estates

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Defence Estates has entered any partnership arrangements to handle (a) the sale, and (b) the ongoing management, of assets in the past five years.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (the successor to Defence Estates) has entered into a number of development partnerships or joint venture arrangements for the sale and ongoing management of surplus assets over the past five years.

Armed Forces: Defence Estates

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Defence Estates has been asked to provide funding for the maintenance and improvement of service family accommodation and single living accommodation in each of the past five years.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (the successor to Defence Estates) and its predecessor organisation provided funding for the maintenance and improvement of both service family accommodation and single living accommodation in each of the past five years.

Armed Forces: Drumadd Barracks

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made with the proposed sale of Drumadd Barracks, Armagh City.

Lord Astor of Hever: Following a marketing campaign, expressions of interest in Drumadd Barracks were received from a number of parties in November 2010. Revised bids were sought in January 2011, as a result of which a preferred purchaser has been identified. The Ministry of Defence is now in the final stage of negotiations to complete the sale.

Aviation: Passenger Duty

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they propose to publish the response to the consultation process concerning air passenger duty.

Lord Sassoon: The Government will publish its response later this autumn.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government who has responsibility for determining that an independent member of the Court of the Bank of England should be asked to stand down.

Lord Sassoon: Schedule 1 Paragraph 8 of the Bank of England Act 1998 provides that the Bank may, with the consent of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, remove a person from office as a director of the Bank in the circumstances set out in that paragraph. That is, being absent from court meetings for three months without the consent of court, becoming bankrupt or being "unable or unfit" to discharge his or her responsibilities as a member.
	Additionally, Schedule 1, Paragraph 7 of the Act provides that a director shall vacate his or her office on becoming a Minister of the Crown or a person serving in a government department in employment in respect of which remuneration is payable out of money provided by Parliament.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Bank of England is reviewing whether asset bubbles which might threaten financial stability are developing in the United Kingdom.

Lord Sassoon: The role of the Bank of England's interim Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is to identify and monitor systemic risks to stability of the financial system. It focuses particularly on risks to the resilience of the financial system and on unsustainable levels of financial sector leverage, credit growth and debt.
	The FPC's latest assessment of risks to financial stability can be found in the Financial Stability Report, June 2011.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 12 September (WA 39), whether a decision to publish the minutes of the Court of the Bank of England is a matter for the court, the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, or HM Treasury; and, further to the evidence given to the Treasury Select Committee on 15 March by Sir David Lees, whether Ministers and officials have expressed a view on the matter to Sir David, the governor or other officials at the Bank of England.

Lord Sassoon: The decision on whether to publish the minutes of the Court of the Bank of England is a matter for the court.
	Neither Ministers nor officials have expressed a view on the matter to Sir David, the governor or other officials at the Bank of England.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many directors and senior employees of United Kingdom banks have been subject to enforcement action by the Financial Services Authority in each of the past five years and in the current year to date.

Lord Sassoon: This is a matter for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), whose day-to-day operations are independent from government control and influence. This question has been passed on to the FSA, which will reply to you directly by letter. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether John Varley signed the Project Merlin agreement on behalf of HSBC Bank Plc or HSBC Holdings Plc.

Lord Sassoon: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 11 August (Official Report, col. WA 386).

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Financial Services Authority has considered the impact on United Kingdom banks of a possible withdrawal from the European Union by the Republic of Ireland and the impact on the capital of United Kingdom banks from the unhedged central funding of their Irish subsidiaries.

Lord Sassoon: The Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority monitor the financial system on an ongoing basis. Contingency plans are prepared and maintained for a range for possible scenarios, as part of the normal policy development process.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Ministers or officials have met representatives of the credit rating agencies Fitch, Moody's or Standard and Poor's individually or collectively to discuss the work of the Independent Commission on Banking in the last three months.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with United Kingdom banks about their approach to the voluntary private sector tender element of the international support programme for Greece.

Lord Sassoon: As part of the process of policy development and delivery, Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations, including banks, investment banks and banking trade associations.
	As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Banking: Bonuses

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what instructions they have issued to UK Financial Investments Ltd concerning the payments of bonuses to bank staff.

Lord Sassoon: As the majority shareholder in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and the largest shareholder in Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), the Government have made clear that they expect these banks to be back-markers and not market leaders on bonuses.
	UK Financial Investments (UKFI) manages the Government's shareholdings in banks on an arm's-length and commercial basis. The UKFI-Treasury Investment Mandate provides that UKFI will seek to ensure compliance with specified remuneration principles as part of .its active engagement with the banks. In particular, UKFI seeks to ensure that remuneration incentives are designed to promote long-term sustainable performance and to ensure that RBS and LBG are at the leading edge of implementing the updated Financial Services Authority remuneration code.

Banking: Equity Underwriting

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 12 September ((Official Report, Commons, col. 776), whether they will address the "uncompetitive" market for equity underwriting.

Lord Sassoon: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) published its market study into equity underwriting in January 2011. The OFT identified features of the market which could potentially restrict, distort or prevent competition. These features typically stemmed from the demand side of the market, information asymmetry and buyer conduct. Following the market study, the OFT decided not to refer the market to the Competition Commission. Instead, the OFT concluded that the issues identified in the market could best be tackled by companies and shareholders doing more to achieve more cost effective outcomes.
	The Government are committed to improving competition in the banking sector for the benefit of consumers and businesses. The Independent Commission on Banking made recommendations on competition in its report of 12 September 2011. The Government will provide their initial response to the Commission's proposals by the end of the year.

Banking: Money Supply

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the stagnation of the velocity of circulation of money supply; and what steps they plan to take.

Lord Sassoon: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England has operational responsibility for monetary policy. The MPC's objective is to maintain price stability. Recent movements in the velocity of circulation of money are analysed in an article which appeared in the Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin 2011 Q1 under the title "Understanding the recent weakness in broad money growth". The article can be accessed via the Bank of England's website at: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/quarterlybulletin/2011.ht.

Banks: First Trust Bank

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 11 August (WA 387) concerning control of the First Trust Bank, whether the Financial Services Authority approved the appointment of those running the bank; and who are those people.

Lord Sassoon: First Trust Bank is a trademark of AIB Group (UK) plc. AIB Group (UK) plc board appointments are a matter for the company and must meet the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Approved Person requirements, including those of its enhanced significant influence function regime. A full list of FSA Approved Persons associated with AIB Group (UK) can be found on the FSA's register: http://www. fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do

Benefits

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that individuals not guilty of any offence will not suffer eviction from social housing or lose benefits.

Lord Freud: Generally prisoners convicted of a criminal offence and detained in prison are not entitled to social security benefits. That means that anyone who is eligible for social security benefits and who is caught, convicted and imprisoned for any offence committed during the recent disorder that has disrupted London and other UK cities will be disqualified from receiving most social security payments. However, housing benefit and council tax benefit can continue to be paid in some circumstances if the period of absence from the home is 13 weeks or less. Furthermore, it is already a ground for eviction in existing legislation if a social tenant or a member of their family is involved in anti-social behaviour or criminal activity that affects their neighbours or local community.
	The Department for Work and Pensions is looking at whether further sanctions can be imposed on the benefit entitlements of individuals who receive non custodial sentences. In addition the DWP is considering increasing the level of fines which can be deducted from benefit entitlement. The Department for Communities and Local Government is proposing to extend landlords' powers to evict social tenants for riot related offences, but this would only apply where the tenant or a member of their household has been convicted for such offences. Any changes put in place by either Department would not apply to individuals who have not been convicted of any offence.

Benefits: Disability

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken in response to The Hardest Hit march past both Houses of Parliament on 11 May of campaigners against cuts in disability benefits.

Lord Freud: This Government are fully committed to enabling disabled people to have the same opportunities and choices as non-disabled people. Ministers and departmental officials have made it a priority to regularly meet with disabled people, their families and disabled people's organisations.
	Many of the organisations that supported the march are already working closely with the Government to help shape our welfare reforms, including improvements to the work capability assessment and the introduction of personal independence payment to replace disability living allowance. We have met around 60 organisations of and for disabled people. The insight of organisations such as Scope, Mencap, Leonard Cheshire Disability, RNIB, and Mind is immensely valuable. We are also working with user-led organisations such as Radar, UKDPC and People First and value their important contribution.
	The department has adopted the principles of user-centred design for universal credit and personal independence payment. This places customers at the heart of the design process to ensure their needs are reflected in the way policies are delivered. For example, in personal independence payment users are being involved in the design of operational processes; how individuals make a claim, how the claimant feeds in to the assessment process, and how a decision is communicated to the individual. This will result in administrative processes which are transparent and easy to use, and will build confidence in benefit award decisions.
	We will continue to engage with disabled people and their organisations about matters that affect them.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to discuss with the United States State Department the terms on which they would be prepared to renew the Exchange of Letters (due in 2016) between the United Kingdom and the United States Government on the British Indian Ocean Territory; and, if so, when they propose to commence those negotiations.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The 1966 Exchange of Notes between the UK and US Governments concerning the availability for defence purposes of the British Indian Ocean Territory is valid for 50 years and shall continue in force for a further 20 years unless, not more than two years before the end of the initial period, either government shall have given notice of termination to the other, in which case the agreement shall terminate two years from the date of such notice. No formal negotiations have commenced.

Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many convictions there have been to date under Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 specifically for holding someone in domestic servitude.

Lord De Mauley: Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 came into force in April 2010. There have been no reports of any convictions under this Act in 2010 (latest available information).
	Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on the Court Proceedings database does not contain information about the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute under which proceedings are brought. Information is not held on whether the victim was held in domestic servitude.
	Please note that annual court proceedings data for the calendar year 2011 will be available in the spring of 2012.

Crime: Rioting

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether those using the internet to encourage rioting and similar activities may be prosecuted for incitement to violence and crime; and whether they consider it is possible to obtain sufficient evidence to secure convictions in such cases.

Baroness Rawlings: The common law offence of incitement was abolished and replaced with three new offences in relation to the encouragement or assistance of crime under Sections 44 to 46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007, with effect from October 2008. These offences make no distinction between online and offline activity, and could be used to prosecute encouragement by means of the internet. The sufficiency of evidence to mount a prosecution in any individual case is an operational matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Criminal Justice Legislation

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will give effect to the recommendation by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division in Regina v Cooper [2011] EWCA Crim 1872 on improving the process by which legislative and transitional provisions in criminal justice legislation are drafted and implemented.

Lord De Mauley: By its very nature criminal justice legislation can be complicated and often this complexity cannot be avoided. However, the Government are committed to enhancing the clarity of legislation across all fields; and to increasing their engagement with experts and with the public. To that end, we are making use of pre-legislative scrutiny; and that is why we are experimenting with plain English drafting.

Debt

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their forecasts for the improvement in the external surplus if both they and the private sector are to reduce debt.

Lord Sassoon: The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the rest of the world's financial surplus with the United Kingdom will narrow from 2.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2010 to 0.4 per cent of GDP in the first quarter of 2016. The corporate sector is forecast to run a financial surplus, which narrows from 6.2 per cent of GDP to 1.5 per cent over this period. Over the same period, the public sector financial balance is forecast to narrow from a deficit of 11.3 per cent of GDP to 1.2 per cent.

Economy

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, The Effect of theGreat Recession in the Household Income Distribution, on the likely period over which living standards will continue to decline; and, if they disagree with the findings, whether they will publish alternative figures.

Lord Sassoon: As the Chancellor has stated, the recovery is likely to be choppy and faces significant global headwinds. Despite this, decisive action taken by the Government at the Spending Review and June 2010 Budget will put the public finances and spending on a sustainable footing. This action will serve to support living standards over the long term. The Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast that real household disposable income will grow from 2011.

Economy

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, The Effect of theGreat Recession in the Household Income Distribution, that poorest families lose more as a result of the squeeze of public spending.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the recent Institute of Fiscal Studies report, The Effect of the Great Recession in the HouseholdIncome Distribution, whether they consider that the effect of their deficit reduction policies will be shared amongst socioeconomic groups.

Lord Sassoon: The unprecedented scale of the deficit has meant that the Government have had to make tough choices but it has always been clear that those with the broadest shoulders should carry the greatest burden. Chart A.6 in Annex A of Budget 2011 provides the Government's best estimate of the impact of tax, tax credit and benefit and public service spending changes on households. It is the combined impact of these that provides the best overall view of the impacts on households. This shows that in 2014-15, the top 20 per cent of households are estimated to make the greatest overall contribution towards reducing the deficit as a percentage of their income and benefits in kind from public services.

Economy: Quantitative Easing

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will instruct the Bank of England to publish a report on the effect of quantitative easing before they agree to indemnify the Bank for a further programme.

Lord Sassoon: The Bank of England has published assessments of the effectiveness of quantitative easing (QE) in a number of publications, including the Inflation Report of May 2010 and the Quarterly Bulletin 2011 Q1. In addition, several members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England have provided their assessments of QE in various published speeches since March 2009. The MPC has operational responsibility for monetary policy, including decisions on quantitative easing, in order to meet the inflation target in the medium term.

Energy: Fuel Poverty

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact on fuel poverty of the forecast £6 billion per annum subsidy to renewable electricity production required to meet targets in the European Union Renewables Directive.

Lord De Mauley: Support for renewable electricity currently adds around £21 to the average domestic electricity bill. The Government are determined to meet our renewable energy and climate change targets and ensure security of supply at least cost to the consumer. That is why we are introducing electricity market reform (EMR) to provide more efficient support to low-carbon power generation and to introduce a capacity payment mechanism to ensure security of supply. The currently estimated £6 billion subsidy for renewable electricity generation will be superseded by the proposals in the EMR White Paper. Modelling for the White Paper estimated that under the feed-in tariff contract for difference package the number of households in fuel poverty could be between 175,000 to 300,000 lower in 2030 compared to what it would otherwise be without EMR.
	We are committed to helping households in fuel poverty and have a number of policies which assist low income and vulnerable households heat their homes more affordably.
	1 DECC 0010 Estimated impacts of energy and climate change policies on energy prices and hills. Costs quoted in 2009 prices.

Energy: Nuclear Safety

Lord Jenkin of Roding: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the new Nuclear Safety Action Plan put forward by the International Atomic Energy Agency, agreed by its board of governors on 13 September; and what estimate they and the United Kingdom's Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) have made of the impact of the plan on the ONR's current work on the safety and security of the United Kingdom's existing and planned nuclear installations.

Baroness Rawlings: The UK welcomes the Action Plan as a positive step towards enhancing the international nuclear safety framework and achieving the aim of continuous improvement in nuclear safety standards. The Action Plan closely reflects the regulatory approach already being undertaken in the UK which, due to our goal setting approach, takes into account events such as those at Fukushima to ensure all proportionate steps are taken in relation to nuclear safety, security and emergency preparedness. As a result the additional impact of the delivery of the Action Plan on the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is expected to be minimal and will be managed from within ONR's existing budgets

Energy: Oil and Gas

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether production and revenue arising from proposed oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean south of Cyprus will be the property of all the people of Cyprus or exclusively of the Greek Cypriots; and whether, as a guarantor power, the United Kingdom has sought to ensure equality between the two peoples of the island.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government have welcomed the indications from President Christofias that he sees the reserves, if they are confirmed, as being an asset to benefit all the communities of Cyprus. We hope that the process of exploration can be managed to support the efforts to achieve a lasting settlement.

EU: Legislation

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support an appeal by the Council of Ministers of the European Union to the European Court of Justice to overturn the General Court's ruling of 22 March 2011 that blanking out the names of the countries making legislative proposals is unlawful; and, if so, what are their reasons.

Lord McNally: The Government support the appeal by the Council to the European Court of Justice against the General Court's judgment of 22 March 2011 in Access Info Europe v Council. The General Court determined that the Council had infringed Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (the Regulation) by withholding the identities of member states making proposals in relation to a particular ongoing legislative procedure. In doing so the General Court rejected the argument that disclosure of this information would harm the decision making process of the European institutions and ruled that it could not therefore be withheld on the basis of the exception in Article 4(3) of the regulation.
	The Government strongly support the right of access provided by the regulation. However it is also important that truly sensitive information is adequately protected. It is the Government's view that, as a general rule, the negotiating positions of member states on European legislation should be protected from disclosure while those negotiations are ongoing. Our concern is that this decision could well undermine that important principle, and could have very significant negative implications for the future use, where necessary, of Article 4(3) of the regulation.

European Court of Human Rights

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have complied with Recommendation No. (2000)2 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the re-examination or reopening of certain cases at domestic level following judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

Lord De Mauley: Bearing in mind the specificities of the legal systems of the United Kingdom, there are adequate possibilities to achieve restitution in integrum for a successful applicant to the European Court of Human Rights. While the reopening of concluded proceedings before our domestic courts is not always possible, particularly in civil proceedings given the principle that parties should be able to rely on the outcome of those proceedings once all appeals have been exhausted, there has always in practice been available a combination of compensatory and administrative measures to ensure that individual measures may be taken to the satisfaction of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe following a judgment of the Strasbourg Court.

European Institute for Gender Equality

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 7 September (WA 31), what is their assessment of the benefits to the United Kingdom and its people of the work of the European Institute for Gender Equality.

Baroness Rawlings: The European Institute for Gender Equality has been operating as an independent agency of the EU since June 2010. The UK Government have not at this time conducted an assessment of the benefits of the institution.
	We hope that the institute will provide research-based evidence which will assist the European Commission to bring forward proposals that are supported by a strong evidence base.

Finance: Clearing Houses

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the ability of LCH Clearnet unilaterally to set margin requirements and specify "value hair cuts" and the risks so posed to financial stability.

Lord Sassoon: The Government will establish in the Bank of England a Financial Policy Committee (FPC) to identify and monitor systemic risks to the stability of the financial system. An interim FPC is currently considering what tools the permanent FPC might need.
	The draft legislation to establish the permanent FPC was published in a White Paper in June 2011 (Cm 8083). The draft legislation also includes detailed proposed changes to the regulatory regime in the Financial Services and Markets (2000) Act applying to recognised clearing houses (RCHs). RCHs that are central counterparties will also be subject to requirements in or under the proposed EU directive on over the counter derivative transactions, central counterparties and trade repositories currently under negotiation in Brussels.

Finance: Equity Markets

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the "cliff edge" volume discounts offered by equity market trading platforms that may promote the creation of false markets.

Lord Sassoon: Regulation of equity markets is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA have assessed that "cliff edge" volume discounts create a risk that participants will be encouraged to trade for improper purposes and, for that reason, that a fee structure that embeds a cliff edge is not compatible with the regulatory responsibilities of trading platforms supervised by the FSA.

Finance: Investors

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 11 August (WA 402) and following the case of United States v Michael Geraud, what steps have been taken by the Financial Services Authority to ensure that all United Kingdom investors have been contacted.

Lord Sassoon: On 3 June 2011, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) wrote to relevant investors based in the UK who had been identified by the US Securities Exchange Committee. The FSA contacted 42 people and has so far received 18 responses.

Finance: Lending

Lord Roberts of Conwy: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to set up a state bank or lending authority to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, as recently suggested by Adam Posen of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.

Lord Sassoon: The Government are committed to increasing lending to small businesses. As part of the Merlin commitment, the banks have committed to make available £76 billion for small businesses this year, a 15 per cent increase from last year.
	The Government have also announced continued support for the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, which will make available over £2 billion of lending to small businesses with insufficient collateral or track record over the next four years.

Freedom of Information

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government who monitors the activities of the Freedom of Information Commissioner; and how many complaints that person or body has dealt with in the past five years.

Lord McNally: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the independent regulator with responsibility for monitoring compliance of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. As an independent body, the ICO is accountable to Parliament for the exercise of its regulatory functions and the way that it spends public funds.
	Requestors and public bodies can appeal FOI decisions of the ICO to the General Regulatory Tribunal and from there to the Higher Courts. If members of the public are unhappy with the way that the ICO has dealt with a particular case, or the service they have received from the ICO, they may complain to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO).
	Complaints received by the PHSO in relation to the ICO for the years 2006-2010 are detailed in the table below. The figures for 2011 will be published by the PHSO in October 2011.
	
		
			  Complaints Received Accepted for a full statutory investigation Reported on Fully upheld Partly upheld Not upheld 
			 06/07* 53 3 6 0 1 5 
			 07/8 39 0 1 0 1 0 
			 08/9 80 1 0 0 0 0 
			 09/10 80 0 1 0 1 0 
		
	
	*As the PHSO brought in a new business approach in 2007/08 as to how they recorded 'investigations' the figures are not directly comparable with subsequent years.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last discussed with the Government of Israel, and with what result, (a) the ability of the crossing-points into Gaza to deal with the imports and exports of that territory, and (b) the shortage of shekels in Gaza for use as local currency; and whether they will continue to make representations on those matters.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Truckloads entering Gaza are still only 45 per cent (based on June 2011 figures) of what went in prior to June 2007. Most of the increase in imports has been consumer goods. In the last month the average number of trucks entering Gaza a day has been less than 300. There have been only around 200 truckloads of exports in the whole of 2011 so far. The UN reports that Gaza needs to import and export 1,000 truckloads per day under normal economic conditions. Exports remain limited to specific authorized agricultural crops. Following the end of the strawberry and flowers season, no exports left Gaza.
	We were encouraged by the Israeli Government's decision to facilitate exports out of Gaza made in February 2011. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development have had talks with Israel about the type and level of exports they hope to achieve in 2011 as well as asking them to ease import restrictions. There has been limited progress and it is important that this now translates into real changes on the ground. We are concerned about the fiscal situation, including the availability of local currency.
	We continue to work closely with the quartet and EU partners and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access and enable a return to economic normality. These issues were most recently raised by the UK at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in New York on 18 September, both in the plenary session and in bilateral meetings with the Israeli delegation in the margins of the main event. Our ambassador to Tel Aviv also raises these concerns regularly with Israeli interlocutors.
	We are clear that more needs to be done, including on easing restrictions on exports, construction material imports and the movement of people.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last discussed with the Government of Israel, and with what result, the provision of clean water supplies in Gaza and the alleged diversion of some supplies to adjacent parts of Israel; and whether they will continue to make representations on this matter.

Baroness Northover: As I have made clear, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unacceptable and unsustainable. DfID and FCO ministers, ambassadors and officials regularly make representations on this issue to the Government of Israel, including at the meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee in New York on Sunday 18 September. The meeting welcomed the increase in building material for infrastructure development allowed into Gaza, but called for increased efforts to improve the humanitarian situation and implement long-term solutions to issues over water. We will therefore continue to make representations to the Israeli Government. We are also supporting the Access Co-ordination Unit to work with Israel and other partners to facilitate the transfer of goods and people in and out of Gaza.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last discussed with the Government of Israel, and with what result, the ban on imports of radiotherapy drugs for cancer patients in Gaza; and whether they will continue to make representations on this matter.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are aware that from a list of 460 essential drugs, Gaza's health ministry medical store is currently missing 170 items, including drugs used to strengthen the bones of cancer patients and other types of cancer-related drugs.
	According to an UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs report that was published in August 2011, as of the end of August, approximately one third of the items in the essential drug list and 27 percent of the medical disposable items were at zero level at the Central Drug Store in the Gaza Strip. These shortages directly affect the delivery of health services at facilities run by the Ministry of Health, which provide 40 per cent of primary health care and 80 per cent of hospital care services.
	We continue to work closely with the quartet and EU partners, and to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access including access to humanitarian and medical supplies. This was most recently raised by the UK at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting in New York on 18 September both in the plenary session and in bilateral meetings with the Israeli delegation in the margins of the main event. Our ambassador to Tel Aviv also raises these concerns regularly with Israeli authorities.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last discussed with the Government of Israel, and with what result, the number of children of school age in Gaza without school places; and whether they will continue to make representations on this matter.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We have regularly raised the issue of schooling in Gaza and the need to allow materials in for donor-funded education projects including the building of 100 new UN Relief and Works Agency schools.
	We are clear that the situation in Gaza is both a tragedy and unsustainable. Whilst there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, there is an enduring need for humanitarian aid. We have also been clear that actions by both Israel and Hamas have contributed to this status quo. Working closely with the quartet and EU partners, we will continue to call on Israel to ease restrictions on access and enable a return to economic normality.
	We are clear that more needs to be done, including on easing restrictions on exports, construction material imports and the movement of people.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last discussed with the Government of Israel, and with what result, the progress on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's building programme, and supply of materials for approved works in Gaza; and whether they will continue to make representations on this matter.

Baroness Northover: As I have made clear, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unacceptable and unsustainable. DfID and FCO ministers, ambassadors and officials regularly make representations on this issue to the Government of Israel, including at the meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee in New York on Sunday 18 September.
	Changes to the access regime announced in June 2010, and the package of measures agreed with the quartet representative in February 2011 were positive steps. However, we are clear that more needs to done, particularly to ease restrictions on construction material imports, to ensure this translates into real change on the ground. We will therefore continue to make representations to the Israeli Government. We are also supporting the Access Co-ordination Unit to work with Israel and other partners to facilitate the transfer of goods and people in and out of Gaza.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last discussed with the Government of Israel, and with what result, restrictions on off-shore fishing in Gaza; and whether they will continue to make representations on this matter.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK frequently raises with the Israeli authorities the issue of easing restrictions on Gaza. But we have not made specific representations concerning fishing limits off the coast of Gaza. There has been no fundamental change in the crossings regime and economic stagnation and de-development in Gaza remain the norm (although Israel's decision to move from a list of 120 permitted goods to a list of specific prohibited items was a positive step). We are clear that more needs to be done, including on easing restrictions on exports, construction material imports and the movement of people.

Gilts

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of historically low real and nominal rates of interest, whether they will instruct the Debt Management Office (DMO) to increase the rate of issuance of long dated gilts; and when Ministers last met the Board and Chief Executive of the DMO.

Lord Sassoon: The Debt Management Office's financing remit for the current financial year was set out in the Debt and Reserves Management Report 2011-12.The planned issuance of long-dated conventional gilts is £37.4 billion (22.3 per cent of total issuance). In addition, planned issuance for index-linked gilts is £38.0 billion (22.7 per cent of total issuance), the greater part of which will be bonds with in excess of 15 years to maturity. A statement on the financing remit will be made alongside the autumn statement on 29 November 2011.
	Treasury Ministers maintain a regular dialogue with senior officials from the Debt Management Office.

Global Competitiveness

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take in response to the Global Competitiveness Report for 2011-12 issued by the World Economic Forum, which indicates that the United Kingdom has fallen in ranking from 5th in 1997 to 94th out of 142 countries in 2011.

Lord Sassoon: The Global Competitiveness Report for 2011-12 issued by the World Economic Forum lists the UK as the 10th most competitive country, its highest ranking since 2007. The report lists the UK as 94th least competitive in terms of the extent and effect of taxation.
	The Government are taking action to repair the damage done by the previous Government and improve the competitiveness of the UK tax system. At the June Budget 2010, the Government set out their aim to create the most competitive corporate tax system in the G20 and has since set out more detailed proposals in its Corporate Tax Road Map (which is accessible online at: http://www.hmtreasury.gov.uk/corporate taxreform.htm). This includes four annual one per cent reductions in the main rate of corporate tax which, together with the further one per cent reduction announced in Budget 2011, will see the rate reach 23 per cent by 2014. Critical changes to the scope of corporation tax in order to enhance competitiveness will include the introduction of a patent box, to incentivise the creation of intellectual property in the UK and a new controlled foreign company regime, to make the UK a more attractive base for multinational groups.
	The Government recognise that tax competitiveness is not just about rates and incidence of tax and have also committed to restoring the UK tax system's reputation for stability, simplicity and predictability. The Government have made a number of improvements to the way in which they make tax policy, with consultation on policy design and scrutiny of draft legislative proposals as the cornerstones. Further details may be found online at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/tax_policy_ making_new_approach.htm.

Government Departments: Surveys

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 14 September (WA 67), whether they have the names of the people with whom Mori conducted interviews; and, if they do, whether they will place in the Library of the House their names and the names of the FTSE 500 boards on which they serve.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The department does not hold this information. The research was carried out by Ipsos MORI on the basis that participants were to remain anonymous.

Government: Ministerial Meetings

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government who were the businessmen who accompanied the Prime Minister on his recent visit to Moscow; and which companies they represented.

Lord Howell of Guildford: My right honourable friend the Prime Minister led a delegation of 24 business leaders to Moscow on 12 September.
	The names of the delegates and the companies and organisations they represented were published on UKTI's website as part of a press release to coincide with the visit. The delegates, in alphabetical order of company, were:
	
		
			 Company Delegate 
			 Aecom Steve Morriss 
			 Allen & Overy David Morley 
			 Arup Philip Dilley 
			 Aviva Igal Mayer 
			 BP Bob Dudley 
			 British Airways Sir Martin Broughton 
			 CBI John Cridland 
			 Celtic Pharma Holdings John Mayo 
			 Ernst & Young Steve Varley 
			 Eversheds Lee Ranson 
			 GT Group Geoff Turnbull 
			 Intercontinental Hotels Group Angela Bray 
			 Investis Helen James 
			 Kingfisher Group Ian Cheshire 
			 London Stock Exchange Xavier Rolet 
			 LOCOG Lord Coe 
			 Pentland Brands Plc Andy Rubin 
			 Plastic Logic Indro Mukerjee 
			 Populous John Barrow 
			 Rolls Royce Sir Simon Robertson 
			 Royal Dutch Shell Peter Voser 
			 Russo British Chamber of Commerce Tim Eggar 
			 Tensar John Kiely 
			 Tyrrells Crisps David Milner

Government: Ministerial Meetings

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Ministers have met representatives of Vitol or Trafigura in connection with oil trading with Libya this year.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Full lists of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on government departmental websites.

Government: Ministerial Meetings

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions took place between the Prime Minister and Russian leaders during his visit to Moscow about the disorder and reported human rights abuses in Chechnya and the North Caucasus and their implications for global security; and what was the outcome of those discussions.

Lord Howell of Guildford: My right honourable friend the Prime Minister discussed issues relating to the rule of law and counter-terrorism with both President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin. Various human rights issues were also covered with President Medvedev. The Prime Minister met Russian human rights activists at the Sakharov Centre, with whom he discussed the human rights situation in the North Caucasus, including conflict in the region.
	We will continue to engage with Russia on these issues-at ministerial level, through our embassy in Moscow, and through international institutions.

Government: Ministerial Posts

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to bring forward proposals to reduce the number of Ministers; and, if so, when.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Government will continue to keep the number of Ministers under review.

Gross Domestic Product

Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) spent on defence in each year between 2001 and 2011; and, excluding predicted calls on the contingency reserve for operational purposes, what are their indicative forecasts of the percentage of GDP to be allocated to defence spending in each year between 2012 and 2015.

Lord Sassoon: We calculate the percentage of GDP that we spend on defence every year using detailed rules drawn up by NATO. These ensure that the figures quoted are comparable between NATO nations, and that there is a common basis for assessing which nations are meeting the NATO 2 per cent of GDP target. Calculation on any other basis would not allow for meaningful or rational comparison.
	This table shows defence spend as a percentage of GDP calculated on this basis for the past 10 years:
	
		
			 UK Defence spend proportion of GDP 
			 Year percentage 
			 2001 2.5 
			 2002 2.4 
			 2003 2.4 
			 2004 2.2 
			 2005 2.5 
			 2006 2.4 
			 2007 2.5 
			 2008 2.6 
			 2009 2.7 
			 2010 2.7 
		
	
	The NATO definition includes several additional categories of spend, such as military pensions and costs of operations, that are not part of the UK core defence budget set in the government-wide spending reviews.
	It is therefore impossible to give any meaningful and comparable forecast of GDP to be spent on defence in future years, as it depends on a range of factors beyond the MoD departmental budget, such as changes to pension costs, the costs of any operations we may be involved in the future, and changes to GDP.

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what current research they are funding into Gulf War illness; and when they expect that research to be concluded.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Ministry of Defence has funded the Cardiff University rehabilitation study on 1990-91 Gulf veterans and I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 20 June 2011 (Official Report, cols. WA 243-244).
	The timing of publication is a matter for Cardiff University, but we expect this to be later this year.

Gurkhas

Lord Selkirk of Douglas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what year or years was or were selected for the comparison of Gurkha Pension Scheme pensions with Armed Forces Pension Scheme pensions in the calculation of service credit for Gurkha service before 1997.

Lord Astor of Hever: The year selected for the comparison of benefits through the Gurkha Pension Scheme and the Armed Forces Pension Schemes was financial year 2007-08.

Health: Obesity

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what role they believe that schools can play in helping obese children lose weight.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Through physical education (PE) schools can teach young people to be physically active and to understand the contribution that physical activity can have to their weight management.
	Through personal, social health and economic education (PSHE) programmes, schools can teach pupils about personal health and well being. This includes: learning about health and well being; the need for a balanced diet; and how sensible food choices help lead to a healthier life-style.
	Schools can also ensure that the food they provide for pupils during the school day meets the statutory nutritional standards for school food. Many schools go much further than this to support healthy food choices in schools.
	Schools also have a role to play in supporting the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). The programme aims to take height and weight measurements of every pupil in reception and year 6 in all primary schools in England. Schools take part on a voluntary basis and almost all schools do so, helping to ensure that around 90 per cent of pupils in the target population participate.

Health: Reciprocal Agreements

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 11 August (WA 414), whether they will seek data from other European Union member states on the number of their state pensioners who have payments made to an address in the United Kingdom; and whether these data could be used in assessing the level of United Kingdom claims to other European Union countries for healthcare and social security costs.

Lord Freud: We have no plans to seek such information from other member states as such data would not in themselves form an effective and accurate basis on which to claim healthcare costs. This is because under the provisions of the European Union (EU) Regulation 883/2004:
	If someone resident in the UK is in receipt of a UK state pension and also a pension from one or more other member states, the UK is liable for the cost of that pensioner's state healthcare.Where a UK resident is in receipt of a state pension from two or more member states but not from the UK, the member state where that person has the longest record of contributions is liable for their state healthcare costs.
	The Government are considering plans to seek information from other member states about citizens for whose healthcare costs those states are responsible. In practical terms those citizens should have been issued with a form S1 by the responsible member states and we are seeking to establish a robust mechanism for registering the forms in the UK, so that we will then be able to ask the relevant member states to reimburse healthcare costs.

Higher Education: Tuition Fees

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the funding of tuition fees for, and repayment of loans by, students taking second degrees varies from that which applies to other students.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) does not usually provide a funding contribution towards university tuition fees for students that are studying a second degree, although some exemptions apply to students studying subjects rated as exceptional, which currently covers subjects such as: medicine, social work, nursing, and veterinary science. A comprehensive list of such exemptions can be obtained from HEFCE. HEFCE also makes a funding contribution to tuition fees for students that are studying a foundation degree, or are in receipt of disabled students allowance.
	Students that already hold an honours degree do not usually qualify for a tuition fee loan. An exception is made for those students that start to study one of the graduate entry accelerated medical and dental programmes in the 2012-13 academic year. Tuition fee loans are also exceptionally made available to students studying a full time course of initial teacher training (ITT) of not more than two years (or a part time course the duration of which does not exceed four years) who have not already gained qualified teacher status (QTS).
	Tuition fee loan repayment arrangements for these students will be the same as those that apply to all other students.

House of Lords: Allowances

Lord Marlesford: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether measures are in place to ensure that where any payments of financial support, expenses or travel costs which have been made to any Member of the House of Lords have been ruled as improper, no further expenses are paid to any such member until the full amount owed by that member has been repaid and that any future daily attendance allowances or travel costs which would normally become due are used as a source of repayment of such debt.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: Such situations are managed by the House Committee and the Clerk of the Parliaments on a case by case basis. Routine minor adjustments relating to expenditure on the House of Lords travel credit card are deducted from a Member's next claim.

House of Lords: September Sittings

Lord Hoyle: To ask the Chairman of Committees what has been the total additional cost to the House of sitting from Monday 5 September to Thursday 15 September.
	To ask the Chairman of Committees what additional costs, in terms of remuneration of staff and Members, arise out of the sittings of the House of Lords in September.
	To ask the Chairman of Committees what estimates have been made of the costs of the disruption of project work by contractors following upon the sittings of the House of Lords in September.
	To ask the Chairman of Committees what discussions have taken place with contractors engaged in building work on the Parliamentary Estate as to the effect of the sittings of the House in September.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: The following additional direct costs have been identified, compared with costs which would have arisen if the House had not sat during that period, and ignoring the possibility that the same number of sitting days would have taken place at some other time.
	Remuneration of staff
	
		
			 Catering & Retail Services £53,000, offset by gross profit from outlets open for House business of £44,000 
			 Hansard £10,000 
		
	
	There may also be an impact on night duty allowance paid to some staff; but this is calculated on an annual basis, so cannot be identified yet nor attributed to particular sitting days.
	Other
	
		
			 Printing & publishing £100,000 
			 Police £15,000 
			 Late night transport £8,000 
			 Electronic publishing £4,000 
			 Paper and toner cartridges £4,000 
			 Catering & Retail Services £2,000 
			 Library materials £2,000 
		
	
	Estates and Works
	There was sufficient notice of the September sitting to be able to take this into account when planning the works programme. Early discussions were held between the Parliamentary Estates Directorate (PED) and contractors, which enabled work to be planned around the recess dates, thus minimising the additional costs incurred. However, by breaking up the Summer Recess, September sittings do have an adverse impact on the scheduling of projects and PED is now considering the impact of an accumulating backlog of works.
	Financial support for members
	The cost of financial support for members for September 2011 will be published in due course.

House of Lords: September Sittings

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask the Chairman of Committees what representations have been received from Members of the House of Lords on the sittings of the House in September.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: Neither I nor the Administration have received any formal representations from Members of the House. However, the Administration and Works Committee, which I chair, is considering this matter and will be discussing the impact of September sittings on construction and maintenance works at its next meeting.

Human Rights Trust Fund

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have contributed to the Human Rights Trust Fund.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK has not contributed to the Human Rights Trust Fund. We are considering carefully whether we might do so during our chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers.

Independent Commission on Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Independent Commission on Banking has now been wound up.

Lord Sassoon: Under its terms of reference, the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) was asked to produce a final report by the end of September 2011.
	As set out in their letters of appointment, individual commissioners' appointments formally came to an end following publication of the commission's final report on 12 September. Some commissioners are likely, however, to undertake a number of ICB-related engagements over the next few months.
	A number of the commission's secretariat are continuing to undertake related work for a further period before the office is shut down on 30 September.

Independent Commission on Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the final report of the Independent Commission on Banking, whether they intend to introduce ring-fencing between United Kingdom insurance companies and related reinsurers within the same ownership group.

Lord Sassoon: The Independent Commission on Banking published its final report on 12 September 2011. Its remit was to consider structural and non-structural reforms to the UK banking sector to promote stability and competition.
	The Government accept, in principle, the commission's suggestions for: a ring-fence around better capitalised high street banks; bail-in instead of bail-out; and measures to increase competition in retail banking. The Government are considering the commission's report and will issue a response by the end of the year.

Independent Commission on Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the final report of the Independent Commission on Banking, whether they will sell their shares in Northern Rock to private equity or other purchasers on a valuation basis that represents a significant discount to tangible book value.

Lord Sassoon: In order to achieve the best value for the taxpayer, the Government are not providing a running commentary on the sales process and cannot comment on specific bids.

Independent Commission on Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the final report of the Independent Commission on Banking was leaked to the BBC; and, if so, whether they intend to investigate the leak.

Lord Sassoon: The Government are not aware of any leak of the final report of the Independent Commission on Banking to the BBC or any other news organisation.

International Day of Democracy

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask the Chairman of Committees what activities were undertaken in the House of Lords to celebrate the International Day of Democracy 2011.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: The British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) produced a briefing document to mark the day, which was sent to all IPU Members and was also advertised on the parliamentary intranet. On 14 September Viscount Montgomery of Alamein also asked an oral question to Her Majesty's Government on the matter.

Iran

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote through internal and multilevel channels continued negotiations with the Government of Iran on the future nature of their nuclear programme; and what are the latest developments in such negotiations.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK wants a diplomatic solution to address the serious concerns we have about Iran's nuclear programme. We prioritise this issue in all our bilateral discussions with Iran. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary raised it with Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi in the margins of the UN General Assembly on 21 September. We also actively seek resolution of the issue through the E3+3 negotiating group, chaired by EU High Representative Baroness Ashton. E3+3 officials met on 21 September in New York and reaffirmed their commitment to the dual-track strategy of pressure and engagement. They offered to meet Iran at an early opportunity, if Iran is prepared to discuss international concerns about its nuclear programme without the unacceptable preconditions it brought to the last talks in Istanbul in January.

Israel and Palestine: West Bank

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they propose to take, in the absence of direct negotiations, to help bring to an end the occupation by Israel of the West Bank and its blockade of Gaza.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK retains a clear position-that the best way to resolve this long-standing conflict is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, with the aim of giving the Palestinian people the state that they need and deserve and the Israeli people long-term security and peace.
	Our focus remains on continuing to push hard for a return to negotiations on the basis agreed by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and President Obama. That is borders based on 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps; security for Israel; and the right for Palestinians to govern themselves in a sovereign and contiguous state. We are working hard with our international partners for a return to negotiations on this basis.
	Failure to return to negotiations now puts at risk the long-term prospects for a two-state solution. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians can afford to let the opportunity for peace slip further from their grasp.
	Along with our European Union partners, we are working to build consensus on a way forward that recognises the progress the Palestinians have made on their state-building efforts, that meets Israel's legitimate security concerns, and that avoids confrontation in the UN. We continue to stress that whatever action is taken, including in New York, it is important that this increases the prospects for a return to negotiations.

Libya

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date they recognised the Libyan Government of Colonel Gaddafi; and against what criteria this decision was taken.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government recognised the Government of the Revolutionary Command Council led by Colonel Qadhafi in Libya on 6 September 1969 in response to its request for recognition of 3 September 1969. In making this decision, the Government of the time took note of the Revolutionary Command Council's stated wish for friendly relations with the UK and their declared intention to respect their international obligations. For their part, the Government also wished to continue friendly relations with Libya. This was in accordance with the practice of the time of recognising governments as well as states.

Libya

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date they recognised the Rebel Government of Libya; and against what criteria this decision was taken.

Lord Howell of Guildford: On 27 July, the Government announced that they recognised and would deal with the National Transitional Council as the sole legitimate governing authority in Libya. That decision reflected the council increasing legitimacy, competence, success in reaching out to Libyans country-wide, and the level of their popular support.

Libya

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will continue to pursue the Government of Libya for compensation for the IRA murders in Northern Ireland carried out with the use of arms and supplies from Libya.

Lord Howell of Guildford: As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister said on 5 September, we are clear that this will be an important bilateral issue between the United Kingdom and the new Libyan authorities.

Libya

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what role they have played in any renegotiation of the share of Libyan oil provided to the United Kingdom and other countries; and whether they will publish data on the proportion provided to each country at present and under the previous regime.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The National Transitional Council (NTC) has not sought to renegotiate any oil contracts. Indeed, we have called for the new Government of Libya to honour existing contracts and we support the NTC's public statements to this effect. The split of Libyan crude exports, both currently and when the Qadhafi Regime was in power, is a matter for the Libyan Government.

Mahmoud Abu Rideh

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 16 March (WA 61), what was the duty of confidentiality involved in the decision not to release details of the social security benefits paid to the late Mahmoud Abu Rideh, and to whom; and what constitutes lawful authority for release of social security information on deceased terrorists under section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.

Lord Freud: My department assures all of its customers that it will protect their information and ensure that it is not disclosed inappropriately. This duty of confidence survives a customer's death if there may be a personal representative who could enforce it.
	For the purposes of Section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, a disclosure is made with lawful authority if:
	it is made by a civil servant in the course of official duty;it is made by a contractor who is providing services to the DWP in accordance with instructions given by the DWP;it is required by law or a court order; orit is made with the consent of the customer.

Middle East Peace Process

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take within the quartet on the Middle East to produce a framework for Middle Eastern peace, with a timetable for implementation.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK maintains a clear position-a return to credible negotiations is the best way to achieve a comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a Palestinian state. We are discussing all options that best support this objective with our international partners, including in the EU and quartet. Quartet representative Tony Blair and EU High Representative Baroness Ashton have recently been in the region to explore a way forward and will continue discussions in New York in the coming days.

Ministry of Defence: Police

Baroness Harris of Richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the proposed cuts to the Ministry of Defence police budget will not impact on the level of community policing in defence establishments and in large military housing estates.

Lord Astor of Hever: Following the comprehensive spending review, consideration has been given to a range of options that will determine the future Ministry of Defence (MoD) requirement for civil policing services and to focus these valuable resources on those areas where civil policing powers can best mitigate our crime and security risks. This includes the community policing service that is provided by the MoD police at some military establishments. These options are currently the subject of formal consultation with the relevant staff associations and trades unions, and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they have given to the letter of support by the Leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mr Altaf Hussain, of 23 September 2001.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: It is not for this Government to account for the actions of the previous Administration.

National Savings and Investments

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure retail investors are able to purchase inflation-protected savings products from National Savings and Investments.

Lord Sassoon: National Savings & Investments removed Savings Certificates, both fixed and index-linked, from sale at close of business on 6 September 2011
	Existing Savings Certificate customers are able to continue their investment into a new term and this option will continue to be available.

NATO

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether NATO has offered support, directly or indirectly, to the Pakistan Taliban or others engaged in conflict against the Pakistani armed forces; and whether NATO has at any time escorted the Pakistani Taliban or those associated with them (whether by air or otherwise) into areas of conflict against Pakistani troops.

Lord Astor of Hever: NATO has not engaged in any of these activities and has no mandate to do so.

Northern Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many London-based meetings have (a) been requested and (b) taken place during each of the past three years between United Kingdom Government Ministers and the London Representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and its people.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not keep a record of such meeting requests. Although the UK does not recognise the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, officials have met the London-based representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community on an ad hoc basis to discuss issues surrounding the Cyprus settlement negotiations in order to maintain a balanced approach to the UK's support for a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus.

Northern Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many meetings have (a) been requested and (b) taken place during each of the past three years between the Prime Minister or other United Kingdom Government ministers and visiting ministers representing the people of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not keep a record of such meeting requests. Although the UK does not recognise the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, ad hoc meetings with representatives from the Turkish Cypriot community have taken place in order to provide a balanced approach to the UK's support of the Cyprus settlement negotiations. The last meeting with a UK Minister took place in June when the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) visited the island and met Dr Eroglu.

Northern Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government what promises were made by the United Kingdom and European Union to Turkish Cypriots on condition that they voted in favour of the 2004 Annan Plan; and which, if any, of those promises have not been fulfilled.

Lord Howell of Guildford: There were no promises made by the United Kingdom or the European Union to the Turkish Cypriots on the condition that they voted in favour of the 2004 Annan Plan. However, since 2004, the EU has worked to bring the Turkish Cypriots closer to Europe through a package of financial aid and trade liberalisation, increasing the potential for future Cypriot reunification. The UK continues to support the efforts of both communities towards a settlement, which would offer significant benefits to all Cypriots.

Northern Cyprus

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what diplomatic arrangements they have with Northern Cyprus.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government do not recognise the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and consequently do not have any diplomatic relations with it.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Cabinet Office was satisfied that none of the staff in the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission expressed an interest in voluntary redundancy; and on what date the full terms of an offer were made to relevant staff.

Lord De Mauley: Employers are required to obtain Cabinet Office approval before launching exit schemes under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. The responsibility for the implementation and delivery of any such scheme rests entirely with the employer. The Cabinet Office has no role in determining whether or not staff at any employer expressed interest in a voluntary redundancy scheme. Nor does the Cabinet Office have a role in monitoring the date at which any offer is made.

Pakistan

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are monitoring any dissident Pakistani political leaders based in London; whether they are aware of any such dissidents inciting and encouraging violence in Karachi or threatening journalists; and what action they will take to prevent such actions.

Baroness Rawlings: It is long-standing government policy to neither confirm nor deny the specific activities conducted by or on behalf of Her Majesty's Government to protect the UK's national security.
	More broadly the Government are concerned about the situation in Karachi-it is in no-one's interest that the violence continues. We strongly sympathise with the loss of life and the Government will continue to engage with the authorities in Pakistan on these issues.

Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the European Union and other partners in relation to the continuation of the provision of aid to Palestine, alongside trade and investment opportunities as incentives to unity among the various Palestinian groups.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Resolution of the Middle East peace process is a high priority for the UK Government. The EU and EU member states as a collective are the biggest financial supporters of the Palestinian Authority. In 2010 the EU gave a total of €377.9 million to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) and to Palestinian refugees in the region.
	The UK works closely with the EU and a range of other partners, such as the United Nations and the Office of the quartet representative, in the OPTs. We hold regular discussions with all partners through a variety of aid co-ordination fora. We also continue to encourage collective consideration of trade and investment opportunities.
	The EU development programme for the OPTs aims to support the Middle East peace process by helping build Palestinian institutions, improving security and promoting economic growth, so that any future state will be stable, prosperous, well-run, and an effective partner for peace with Israel. We urge other partners to continue their support.

Passports

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many United Kingdom citizens hold a valid British passport.

Lord Henley: The number of British Citizens currently holding a valid passport issued in the United Kingdom is estimated at 48.5 million. An exact figure cannot be given because lost and stolen passports may not be replaced immediately.

Pensions

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to take any action to respond to the number of pension saving plans being cancelled by those in the private sector on low and moderate earnings.

Lord Freud: The Government want to help individuals by having a stable economy with sustained and balanced growth, which is why we are taking action to tackle the deficit, support business in creating jobs with most competitive tax system in the G20, to make the UK the best place in Europe to start finance and grow a business, to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy and to create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe. The Government's Growth Review will continue for the rest of this Parliament, providing ongoing focus on what the Government can do to support growth.
	We believe that pension provision is important, and that is why we are introducing workplace pension reform. Automatic enrolment will be introduced from 2012 requiring all employers to enrol eligible workers into workplace pension saving and to make an employer contribution.
	The aim of automatic enrolment is to encourage people to start saving, continue saving and save for longer to meet their retirement needs. As a result of automatic enrolment we expect there to be around 5 to 8 million people newly saving or saving more in all forms of workplace pension scheme.
	Automatic enrolment is widely recognised as the best way to overcome people's savings inertia-rather than having to make an active decision to save in a workplace pension, an employee has to make an active decision not to save. Even where an individual opts out, the employer is required to re-enrol them every three years, encouraging individuals to rethink about the need to save for their retirement.
	A programme of communications and information is being designed to help people understand the need to save to meet their aspirations for retirement, build awareness of the changes and support a behavioural shift amongst working age people so that saving in a pension becomes the norm.
	In addition, the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) has been established to provide access to suitable, low cost pension provision for all employers, and will be particularly suited to the needs of those workers on low to moderate incomes.
	And for future pensioners the Government are looking at reforming the state pension system which would be simple, easy to understand, efficient to deliver, affordable-providing a firm foundation for workplace saving.

Presumed Deaths

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications were made under Section 8 of the Social Security Act 1998, in relation to a person's missing spouse who is presumed to have died, in each of the past three years; and of those how many were successful.

Lord Freud: Information is not collected on the number of applications made under section 8 of the Social Security Act 1998 in relation to a person's missing spouse who is presumed to have died.

Presumed Deaths

Lord Boswell of Aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications were made under Section 3 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 to receive bereavement benefit in respect of a person whose death is difficult to establish, in each of the past three years; and, of those, how many were successful.

Lord Freud: Information is not collected on the number of applications made under Section 3 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 in relation to a person whose death is difficulty to establish.

Prisoners: Sentences

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are currently held in prisons in England and Wales whose sentences are for rest of life.

Lord De Mauley: As of 20 September 2011, there are 42 prisoners held in prisons in England and Wales and a further five detained in hospital under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983 who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and given a whole life tariff by the Courts.

Public Expenditure

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much public expenditure above agreed departmental budgets has been agreed by HM Treasury and taken from the Treasury reserve in the current financial year.

Lord Sassoon: £3,950 million was added to total departmental expenditure limits for 2011-12 from the Treasury reserve in the 2011 main estimate.

Public Infrastructure: Investment

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what public infrastructure investment yielded an economic return in excess of the Government's current long-term cost of capital.

Lord Sassoon: The Government do not hold this information. Decisions on public investment projects are based on the methodology for economic appraisal set out in the Treasury's Green Book. This involves assessing the net present value to the UK of a proposal's costs and benefits.
	The 2010 spending review set out the Government's capital spending plans.

Republic of Ireland: Financial Support

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what conditions were attached to the funding that they provided to the Republic of Ireland as support in the recent financial crisis.

Lord Sassoon: The terms of the UK bilateral loan to Ireland are as set out in the loan agreement that was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 10 January 2011.
	The agreed conditionality includes fiscal consolidation to reduce the general government deficit to below 3 per cent of GDP before 2015, reforms to the banking sector and other structural reforms. The bilateral loan agreement also includes a condition for the Irish to consult with the Treasury before finalising its bank restructuring plan. This consultation has taken place.

Rome: British Embassies

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Vatican concerning the creation of one embassy in Rome.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK Government have made no representations to the Vatican concerning the creation of one embassy in Rome. The UK maintains separate embassies to the Republic of Italy and to the Holy See, as it is the diplomatic practice of the Holy See not to accept cross-accreditation of ambassadors to these two appointments.

Schools: A-Levels

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of candidates achieved an A grade or A* grade at A level examinations in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of candidates were unclassified at A level examinations in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The table below shows the percentage of A-level examination entries given grade A* or A or unclassified in 1966, 1970, 1980, 1996, 2000 and 2010. There are no equivalent figures available for 1960 and 1990.
	
		
			  Percentage of entries given the grades A*, A and unclassified at GCE A level 
			  Grade A*1 Grade A Unclassified4 
			 19663,5,7 N/A 8.7% 12.6% 
			 19703,5,8 N/A 8.7% 14.2% 
			 19803,6,9 N/A 8.8% 15.5% 
			 19966,10 N/A 16.2% 14.4% 
			 20002,6,11 N/A 18.0% 10.5% 
			 20102,6,11 8.0% 18.9% 1.7% 
		
	
	1. Grade A* was introduced in 2010
	2. Figures from 2000 onwards are for students aged 16-18 at the beginning of the academic year in schools and FE sector colleges in England.
	3. Figures for 1966 to 1980 are for all students who took GCE A level examinations in that year and are based on a sample of pupils from the School Leavers Survey.
	4. Includes ungraded, no award (absent/declined) and pending.
	5. Coverage: England and Wales
	6. Coverage: England
	7. Source: Statistics of Education: GCE, CSE & School leavers, Summer examinations, 1966 Vol 2, DES. England and Wales, Table 5.
	8. Source: Statistics of Education: School leavers CSE and GCE, Summer examinations, 1970 Vol 2, DES. England and Wales Table 28.
	9. Source: Statistics of Education: Statistics of School leavers CSE and GCE, 1980, DES. England, Table C29.
	10. Source: Statistical Bulletin: GCSE & GCE A/AS Examination Results 1995-96, DfEE. England, Table 15.
	11. Source: GCE/Applied GCE A/AS and Equivalent Examination Results in England. 2009-10 (Revised), DfE. Table 12.

Schools: Music

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the budgetary provision for this year and the next two years for the Music and Dance Scheme enabling gifted children to attend specialist music boarding schools; and what impact they expect the funding to have on the availability of scholarships.

Lord Hill of Oareford: The Music and Dance Scheme currently provides training for gifted children at eight specialist music and dance schools and through a network of 15 centres for advanced training. The Music and Dance Scheme paid bursaries to over 2000 students in 2010-11.
	The total budget for the MDS in 2011-12 is £29.5 million. The Government are committed to the long-term future of the scheme and will announce Music and Dance scheme funding for future years in due course.

Schools: Nurses

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many school nurses are employed in (a) primary schools, and (b) secondary schools.

Lord Hill of Oareford: School nurses are generally employed by primary care trusts, although some school nurses will be directly employed by state or independent schools.
	The latest monthly workforce statistics published by the NHS Information Centre in August show that in May 2011 there were 1,135 FTE school nurses working for the NHS in England and 1,478 head count school nurses.

Second World War: Pardons

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of the Republic of Ireland concerning the pardoning of former members of the Irish army who were court-martialed by that army because of their role in fighting on the Allied side in World War II.

Lord Howell of Guildford: No representations have been made to the Government of the Republic of Ireland concerning the pardoning of former Irish soldiers who left the Irish Defence Forces to fight on the allied side in World War II. This is a matter for the Irish Government and one which the Irish Minister for Defence recently stated in the Dail that he was "giving active consideration to ...". The British Government are grateful for the contribution made by Irish soldiers during the Second World War. During the State Visit in May, Her Majesty the Queen and President McAleese laid wreaths together at the Irish War Memorial Gardens in memory of the Irish soldiers who died in the World Wars.

Somalia and Kenya

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they, or any international aid agencies, received a warning about the likelihood of drought and famine in Somalia and Kenya in 2010; and, if so, what steps were taken to prepare in advance for any humanitarian disaster.

Baroness Rawlings: From late 2010 the UK-supported United Nations Food Security Nutrition Analysis Unit forecast a likely deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Somalia due to poor rains, high food prices, insecurity and reducing access for humanitarian agencies. Following poor rains again in early 2011 and a failed harvest in much of South Somalia, the severity of the forecasts intensified to include localised famine conditions. The Famine Early Warning System also warned of the impact of the drought in Kenya.
	The UK Government allocated £35 million between October 2010 and February 2011 to support humanitarian efforts reach 1.2 million people in Somalia and 300,000 people in Kenya to mitigate some of the worst effects of the drought. This included an additional £19 million, in light of the warnings we were receiving.

South Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to support the training and strengthening of civil society in South Sudan as outlined in the South Sudan Development Plan 2011-13; and through which organisations.

Baroness Rawlings: DfID is currently considering provision of support through NGOs that will focus on civil society capacity development to strengthen their ability to advocate for better education and health service provision (both at national and state levels); to act as an advocate for marginalised groups (particularly women); and to act as a monitor of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan's policy of decentralisation. As the programme is currently under preparation it is too early to say which NGOs or civil society fora may implement this project.
	The ongoing South Sudan Peace Building Programme, which is funded by DfID and managed by the NGO PACT (Private Agencies Co-operating Together) South Sudan, includes a component for increasing the capacity of communities, including local administration and civil society, to respond to threats to community stability in a timely and effective manner. Direct training has been provided to local non-governmental peace building organisations in grant management, financial management, and monitoring and evaluation.

South Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide direct budget support to the government health sector in South Sudan; and how they will ensure that current standards set up largely by non-governmental health organisations will be maintained.

Baroness Rawlings: The UK Government are not planning to provide direct budget support to the health sector in South Sudan. We support health service delivery in South Sudan mostly through the Basic Services Fund (BSF), a pooled multidonor fund for which DfID is the trustee.
	The BSF ends shortly and DfID is currently working with the South Sudanese Government and other donors to both design a one year extension to this project and the subsequent funding mechanism for future donor support to the health sector. This mechanism would continue to support the service delivery, much of which is currently implemented by non-governmental organisations, whilst also building the capacity of the Republic of South Sudan to manage health services.

South Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support the expansion of the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in South Sudan; and what improvements have been made to the operation of the Common Humanitarian Fund.

Baroness Rawlings: Following secession and the establishment of a new country office in Juba, DfID South Sudan is in the process of reviewing and developing its humanitarian portfolio. We are considering supporting the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in South Sudan, but it is too early to confirm such support. The development of a South Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund is at an infant stage. DfID is maintaining a close watch on the process as it goes forward and will offer guidance and support to UNOCHA if this is deemed necessary.

State Recognition

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria are applied in their recognition of a country concerning the land area claimed by that country.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The normal criteria applied to the recognition of a state were described in the Written Answer by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr Sainsbury (Official Report, House of Commons, 16 November 1989, col. 494). These include the criterion that a state should have, and seem likely to continue to have, a clearly defined territory with a population.

Student Loans Company

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the annual cost to public funds of the Student Loans Company.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The total amount of grant in aid funding provided to the Student Loans Company (SLC) from public funds, namely from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, can be found in the SLC's annual reports and accounts. In the past three financial years this was as follows:
	
		
			 Financial Year Grant in aid funding provided to SLC from the BIS and the devolved Administrations 
			 2008-09 £85,168k 
			 2009-10 £93,076k 
			 2010-11 £90,207k

Student Loans Company

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial contributions were made to the Student Loans Company by the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive in the last three financial years.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Each of the devolved Administrations is separately responsible for agreeing a budget with the Student Loans Company (SLC) in light of their department's overall public expenditure priorities and policies.
	The following table confirms the financial contributions made to the Student Loans Company (SLC) by the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Executive in the past three financial years:
	
		
			 Financial Year Government Body Funding Contribution provided to SLC* 
			 2008-09 Scottish Government £4,575k 
			  Welsh Assembly Government £5,536k 
			  Northern Ireland Executive £3,535k 
			 2009-10 Scottish Government £4,119k 
			  Welsh Assembly Government £5,957k 
			  Northern Ireland Executive £3,868k 
			 2010-11 Scottish Government £3,600k 
			  Welsh Assembly Government £6,158k 
			  Northern Ireland Executive £3,254k 
		
	
	*Source: Grant in aid funding for financial years 2008-09 and 2009-10 paid from the devolved Administrations directly to SLC (SLC annual reports and accounts 2008 09 and 2009-10). For 2010-11, BIS funded SLC directly as lead sponsor department in order to comply with Treasury Consolidated Budgeting Guidance, and the figures in the table above represent funding from the devolved Administrations to reimburse BIS for SLC expenditure incurred on their behalf.

Student Loans Company

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the financial implications for the Student Loans Company of the decisions of the Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Executive with regard to student fees.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: There are no financial implications for the Student Loans Company in terms of funding for the student fees themselves. Ownership of the budgets for student fees in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland remains with the Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government and Northern Ireland Executive respectively, and any financial implications arising from their decisions on student fees will be a matter for each Administration to confirm.
	There may be financial implications for the Student Loans Company's administration costs, in terms of the feasibility and implementation of policy changes related to decisions on student fees. However, higher education (HE) and HE student funding is a devolved matter and each of the devolved Administrations is separately responsible for agreeing an appropriate budget with the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the light of their department's overall public expenditure priorities and policies.

Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to South Kordofan and Blue Nile in Sudan.

Baroness Northover: We continue to urge both the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (North) to allow full and unfettered access for humanitarian relief to Southern Kordofan State and Blue Nile State. Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham made this clear in his statement of 24 August, where he called for immediate humanitarian access to Southern Kordofan. During his visit to Sudan 18-20 July he also reminded the Government of Sudan of their obligation to protect civilians and to allow humanitarian access to those in need.

Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to help facilitate credible mediation efforts between the National Congress Party and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement northern sector.

Lord Howell of Guildford: As the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my honourable friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham) set out in his statements of 2 September and 24 August, and during his visit to Sudan in July, we continue to make clear to the Government of Sudan and to the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (North) that long-term peace in Sudan can be found only through negotiation and dialogue. We fully support the efforts of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in his work to bring the two parties together and to establish a process of negotiation.
	Haile Menkerios, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and the African Union High Level Implementation Panel can also play a positive role in encouraging negotiation between the parties: we stand ready to support them.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were, for the most recent years for which figures are available, the number of United Kingdom taxpayers whose personal taxable incomes exceeded (a) £30,000, (b) £50,000, (c) £75,000, (d) £100,000, (e) £150,000, (f) £250,000, (g) £500,000, (h) £750,000, (i) £1 million, (j) £2 million, (k) £3 million, (l) £4 million, (m) £5 million, and (n) £10 million.

Lord Sassoon: Estimated numbers of income tax payers with total income exceeding these thresholds in 2011-12 are shown in the table below.
	The estimates provided are based on the 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes and projected to 2011-12, using economic assumptions consistent with the Office of Budget Responsibility's March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook.
	
		
			 Taxpayers by range of total income, 2011-12: 
			 Total income exceeding: Taxpayers (Thousands) 
			 £30,000 8,950 
			 £50,000 3,020 
			 £75,000 1,270 
			 £100,000 712 
			 £150,000 351 
			 £250,000 133 
			 £500,000 42 
			 £750,000 22 
			 £1 million 14 
			 £2 million 4 
			 £3 million 2 
			 £4 million 1 
			 £5 million 1 
			 £10 million Negligible

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the estimated tax receipts by year of a top rate of income tax of (a) 40p, (b) 45p, and (c) 50p, for the next five years.

Lord Sassoon: At Budget 2011, the following estimates were made:
	
		
			 Total income tax receipts 1 4 (£ billion) 
			 Additional rate of Income Tax2 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 
			 40 per cent3 164.5 177.0 189.2 201.5 
			 45 per cent 165.2 178.8 190.9 203.4 
			 50 per cent 165.7 180.0 192.1 204.6 
		
	
	1. Gross of tax credits. Income tax includes Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and self assessment receipts, and also includes tax on savings income and other minor income tax components.
	2. Table shows additional rate of tax on total income excluding dividends income; additional rates of tax on dividends income are 42.5, 37.5 and 32.5 per cent respectively.
	3. See Budget 2011 Table C.3.
	4. Potential second order effects of a change in the additional rate on the wider economy and tax revenues are not included in these figures.
	At Budget 2011, the Chancellor stated that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will assess the revenue raised by the 50p rate, once self-assessment data for 2010-11 are available.
	The table above shows revenues with different top rates starting in 2012-13. Because of the timing of self-assessment returns, revenues from income tax rate changes are not fully realised in the first year.
	The figures provided cannot be used to infer anticipated yield from the additional (50 per cent) rate introduced in 2010-11.
	Expected revenues from the additional rate were set out in the March 2010 Budget document (table Al1, page 140) available at: http://webarchive. nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407010852/http://www. hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/budget2010_complete.pdf

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the cost to public revenue of raising the income tax threshold to £10,000.

Lord Sassoon: Increasing the personal allowance for those aged under 65 from £8,105 to £10,000 in 2012-13 is estimated to cost £10.5 billion.
	Estimated exchequer costs are on an accruals basis and assume that the basic rate limit remains at £34,370. The higher rate threshold is assumed to increase by the same amount as the personal allowance.
	The estimates assume no accompanying changes in the upper thresholds of national insurance contributions.
	This estimate is based on the 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes data projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook.
	The estimate excludes possible behavioural responses which are likely to be small relative to the estimate provided.

Treatment of Detainees

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it was their intention in setting up the detainee inquiry that it would be conducted in accordance with the United Kingdom's international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lord McNally: The Government have made clear that they stand firmly against torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Torture is not condoned and other Governments are not asked to carry it out on the UK's behalf. The detainee inquiry has been established to consider allegations of UK involvement in the mistreatment or rendition of detainees held overseas by other countries. The Government are confident that the inquiry will conduct a thorough and independent examination into these issues, as it has been asked to do by the Prime Minister. The inquiry will not establish legal liability, nor will it order financial settlement. It was not set up to comply with, or respond to, any perceived international legal obligations.

Tunisia

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they, or international institutions of which they are a member, are holding frozen Tunisian funds; if so, whether they are taking action to release them in order to aid the Tunisian economy.

Lord Howell of Guildford: An EU-wide asset freeze was imposed against 48 Tunisian individuals on 4 February. The Treasury subsequently introduced criminal penalties for breaches of the asset freeze and notified the financial sector of the measures. The Treasury also added the list of Tunisia targets to its consolidated list of financial sanctions which is checked by the sector against client and customer databases.
	A small amount of assets have been frozen within the UK. We cannot disclose further details at this stage but are working with the Tunisian Government to ensure they understand the legal processes involved in releasing and repatriating these assets. Assets have been frozen in other jurisdictions across Europe.

Uganda

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 19 July (WA 290), when the decision on United Kingdom budget support to Uganda for financial year 2011-12 will be taken.

Baroness Northover: We have last week confirmed to the Government of Uganda that the UK will provide a maximum of £77.5 million budget support to Uganda over the period 2011-2014/15. Our budget support will decline over the four-year period and will represent 14 per cent of our aid to Uganda by 2014/15 down from a peak of over 50 per cent under the last Government. It will comprise both general support to the budget worth a maximum of £50 million and sector support to health worth up to £27.5 million. Through UK budget support, we will strengthen budgetary processes and public investments, improve value for money in public service delivery; increase tax collection; and ensure better transparency and accountability for the management of oil revenues. These steps will ultimately pave the way for Uganda's independence from development assistance. In addition, our health sector support will increase the number of attended births by over 100,000, immunise almost 125,000 children and ensure over 700,000 children to get rapid access to malaria treatment. We will link a proportion of both general and health sector payments to performance in these areas.
	We see the next four years as a critical window of opportunity in which the UK can continue to play an important part in helping the Government of Uganda strengthen public institutions and financial management systems so that Uganda's oil revenues can be managed effectively, efficiently and equitably.
	During his recent visit to Uganda, the Secretary of State for International Development received assurances from the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance that the Government of Uganda shares the UK's interest in optimising the benefits of oil for all Ugandans.
	To safeguard British taxpayers' money, general budget support to Uganda will be paid in quarterly instalments.

UK Trade and Investment

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of United Kingdom trade is with (a) countries in the eurozone, and (b) other countries in the European Union.

Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint: Forty-four per cent of UK trade in goods and services is with countries in the eurozone (EMU members), and a further 6 per cent is with the rest of the EU (2009).
	This is taken from the UK Balance of Payments (Pink Book) published by the Office for National Statistics. Data for 2010 will be published on 1 November 2011.
	More recent data (Quarter 2 2011), for trade in goods only, show that 45 per cent of trade in goods is with eurozone (EMU members), and a further 7 per cent with the rest of the EU.
	This is from the UK Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics July 2011 edition, published by the Office for National Statistics on 14 September 2011.

Zimbabwe

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what pressure they are putting on the Government of Zimbabwe to end human rights abuses in the diamond sector and to hold perpetrators to account.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are deeply concerned by the continuation of human rights violations in Zimbabwe, including in the Marange region, which includes the use of intimidation, violence and arbitrary arrests, as well as repressive legislation and limited media freedom.
	We have made our views known to the Government of Zimbabwe and urge all parties, including the security forces and the prosecuting authorities, to act in an impartial manner and respect the rule of law. We continue to call, both bilaterally and within the EU member states, for an end to all such abuses and the restoration of internationally accepted human rights standards in Zimbabwe.
	Following the allegations made in the BBC "Panorama" programme, we have urged the Kimberley Process, through the EU, to investigate the allegations. The Kimberley Process chair has written to the BBC asking it to pass its evidence for consideration, and to the Government of Zimbabwe requesting clarification of the allegations.
	We also call on the Zimbabwean authorities to transparently investigate this footage. Until all Marange mines meet Kimberley Process standards, the UK will continue to argue for a robust international response to Zimbabwe's failure to comply.
	There are limitations to the Kimberley Process's ability to deliver on issues such as human rights and there is a need to reform the Kimberley Process to make it a more effective mechanism. We are working with European Union partners to explore ways to strengthen and enhance the Kimberley Process to ensure it remains effective, accountable and relevant. In particular, we support reform of the Kimberley Process that would enable it to take human rights abuses by states more explicitly into consideration.

Zimbabwe

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as a member of the European Union backing sanctions against Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), they are issuing warnings to importers not to buy diamonds from Canadile Miners or Mbada Diamonds, which are 50 per cent owned by ZMDC.

Lord Howell of Guildford: It is for all businesses to assess whether their proposed business activities are compliant with existing restrictive measures and seek appropriate independent legal advice. The restrictive measures imposed on Zimbabwe prohibit the making available of funds or economic resources to directly or indirectly listed entities. Marange Resources (formerly Canadile Miners) and Mbada Diamonds are not themselves designated entities. However, if making resources available to them conferred a significant financial benefit on a designated entity such as ZMDC, as would often be the case with joint ventures, this would be a breach of the measures.
	There are also restrictions under the Kimberley Process (KP) on diamonds exports from the Marange region in which the mining operations of Marange Resources (formerly Canadile Mines) and Mbada Diamonds are located. Given the continuing absence of a KP agreement allowing Zimbabwe to export Marange diamonds, the EU Chair of the Working Group on Monitoring (WGM) has issued a statement to all KP participants which makes clear that until consensus is reached, KP participants should not trade in Marange diamonds. We have informed the UK diamond industry of this statement by the WGM chair.

Zimbabwe

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what efforts they are making to introduce reforms of the Kimberley Process to improve the scheme's decision-making process, increase transparency and enhance monitoring.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Kimberley Process was originally designed to combat the trade in conflict diamonds, defined as rough diamonds being sold by rebel groups to fund conflict. In this respect, the Kimberley Process has had considerable success; conflict diamonds now represent less than 1 per cent of the global trade in rough diamonds, compared to 15 per cent in the 1990s. However, given the narrow definition of conflict diamonds, which does not include the actions of states, and the fact that the Kimberley Process operates by consensus, there are limitations to the Kimberley Process's ability to deliver on issues such as human rights and transparency.
	We accept therefore that there is a need to reform the Kimberley Process to make it a more effective mechanism. We are working with European Union partners to explore ways to strengthen and enhance the Kimberley Process to ensure it remains effective, accountable and relevant. In particular, we support reform of the Kimberley Process that would enable it to take human rights abuses by states more explicitly into consideration.
	In addition to Kimberley Process reform, we are also exploring alternative and complementary schemes to work alongside and strengthen the Kimberley Process, including industry-led regulatory initiatives to provide a higher level of assurance across the diamond supply chain, taking into account issues such as human rights.